Now and Then
by icallitfunny
Summary: The aftermath of my spin on season 6 finale. Cristina and Owen centric, with mentions of all essential Grey's character.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Gary Clark wildly waved the gun in the air. No one dared to move for the fear of attracting attention and becoming his next target. "Where's Webber?" Gary demanded to know. He was nowhere close to being done with the vengeful killing spree. His first target, Derek Shepherd, was shot squarely in the chest. He made sure to see the blood seep through the open wound. He made sure Derek was lying in his pool of blood. He watched Derek close his eyes. Main target was down but Derek was just not enough.

The air in the ER was thick like a scorching 105 degree summer afternoon. There was a loud silence in the room. Fear thumped in everyone's heart and sobs intermittently echoed throughout the open space. Gary was getting frustrated. There were too many people in the room and not a single one was his target. Gary's eyes were blood-shot and brimmed with tears. He realized he needed to make an example out of someone in order to get some answers on his targets' whereabouts. He raised the gun with trembling hands, finger wrapped around the trigger.

Gary pointed straight ahead and directed his demand, "You. You will tell me where I can find Webber and Grey."

Callie's large brown eyes widened, eyes reflecting the hollow of the bullet hole. "I-I'm sorry. I swear. I-I-I d-don't... know." Tears immediately streamed down Callie's large eyes as she realized she could be his next target. Words were being swallowed by her tears, as she raised her hands and sobbed, "Pl-pl-please..."

Gary's gun started shaking even more uncontrollably as he found himself in front of a woman begging for her life. His wife cried like that once when she lost her mother soon after their marriage. He momentarily halted until he saw dark figures creeping near the doors to the ER. Gary sensed the dark vests closing in on him. He steadied his hands and firmly told Callie, "I need an answer."

Within seconds, the clear reflection of the gun from Callie's brown eyes were engulfed by a pair of angry blue eyes.

Gary smiled, fingers stabilizing at the large figure that now replaced the sobbing woman. His heart toughened and he aimed straight at the large sturdy chest. "Another doctor playing God," Gary smirked. "Who are you going to save, you or her?"

Owen defiantly looked at Gary and replied, "I'm going to save you."

* * *

"Dammit, I don't know what to do." Cristina thought out loud. She was good–very good–for a resident but she was still only merely a resident. With panic in her voice, Cristina looked up and met Jackson's confident eyes.

"You know what to do," Jackson reassured confidence into Cristina.

"Pig or cow... pig or cow," muttered Cristina.

"What?" asked Jackson. He knew he was there to provide support for Cristina rather than assist her in the surgery but silently wondered if Cristina was starting to lose it.

"Pig. Clamp." Cristina forcibly demanded a clamp to clamp the aorta from bleeding out.

Jackson smiled and uttered out, "Badass." Cristina never failed to amaze Jackson. She was an amazing woman he knew he never had a chance with.

* * *

"Wrong answer. All you doctors think you are Gods." Owen's words triggered Gary. "No, you do NOT get to decide who lives and who dies. This is NOT your control. NO!" Gary was once again shaken to his core.

Owen held his gaze, steady and grave, against Gary's erratic blood-shot eyes. "No, you're right. I don't control anybody except for myself. I do not get to play with lives nor do I have any intentions of controlling someone else's life."

"Bullshit," sneered Gary. "You are trying to save the woman behind you and you want to play God and save me. You think you're being brave but it's pure stupidity. But no. I hold the power–I can easily pull the trigger and kill you."

Owen distracted Gary long enough for everyone in the ER to scamper and find cover under desks and behind doors. Callie still being in Gary's vision was unable to move. "Please..." Callie weakly begged.

Gary heard the woman's voice behind Owen. "Oh, I know what this is. The woman behind you-she's yours isn't she? I should go ahead and shoot the woman in order for you to realize WHY I'm here and WHAT I'm here for. I should make you feel my pain!"

There was something unsettling to Gary about Owen's calm and collected eyes that resembled the ocean before a hurricane. The blue eyes rumbled into a stormy ocean as he corrected Gary, "You have it all wrong. You don't need to do that for me." Owen went on, "Today... I lost everything that ever meant anything to me. I lost and I died. Me, here in front of you, it's not me. I'm not here right now. So yes, I can stand here in front of you and talk to you. Because I'm already not here. You do NOT scare me."

Gary strangely found his own expression in Owen's dark pained eyes. "You have no idea what you're talking about. My pain? There is nothing comparable in life... than to have the woman you love one minute and gone the next. You have no idea!"

"I know more than you can imagine," challenged Owen. "But you do not get to play the victim and take this out on innocent lives. Losing the person you love? That is not on anyone else. If you want someone to blame, blame it on yourself. There were choices you could have made when you had her in which she still might be here. Blame yourself!"

Gary blinked his eyes that were stinging from the unblinked tears. "You are either crazy or you really do know my pain."

Owen formed a weary smile. "I lived. Death does not scare me. 5 years in Iraq surrounded by blown up body parts does not scare me. Losing friends in battlefields does not scare me. Losing my dad to a drunk driver does not scare me. Me, standing here in front of you holding a gun does not scare me. But do you know what does?" Owen saw the SWAT team behind the closed doors behind Gary. "Losing the woman that I love. Cristina not knowing how much I love her and how much I need her. That scares me. Possibility of it being too late for her to ever know. That... will kill me faster and quicker than that gun in front of me."

The SWAT team was pushing the heavy ER doors millimeters at a time, wanting to make sure to get an accurate shot of Gary. They were determined to take Gary down without surrendering anymore victims. Owen's heart pounded blood through his veins, causing a rush of low thumping against his ears. Either Gary or he was going to end up being the last victim. Cristina's face flashed in Owen's cloudy thoughts. Her face etched with defeat and disappointment when she managed to utter out, "I'm done, we're done," caused a searing pain in his chest. He knew that even a bullet straight to his chest would not compare to the heartache he felt when he heard those words. Owen closed his eyes. The day was nearing an end.

That was a mistake. Owen's eyes had drawn Gary out of his insanity and allowed him to focus on the love for his wife and not his pain. Owen cut off the connection between them. Gary felt anger rising from his stomach that rivaled his anger towards Derek. Gary declared, "I told you, you do NOT get to play God."

_'BANG!'_ Callie reflexively ducked and everyone scampered about trying to reach the lowest point on the ground. Owen opened his eyes. _'BANG!'_ Two ear splitting shots rang throughout the still ER.

* * *

"Bokey," Cristina called over the scrub nurse. "You can let Mer come in now. I'm almost done here. I'm sure she's having a heart attack and I'm in no mood for a back-to-back today."

"Yes, doctor." Bokey pressed the intercom leading to the scrub room and called Meredith into the OR.

Meredith hurriedly scrubbed in and ran into the OR. "You called me because he's alive right? He-he's not dead and you want me to identify his body, right?" Excitement and fear danced in Meredith's eyes.

"Stop being so dramatic. I told you I was good. Come stand above his head unless you want to picture his insides every time you have sex," instructed Cristina.

Jackson smirked. Only Cristina would be crude enough to talk about sex in the OR.

"Okay I'm almost done–just finishing up the pericardial repair," announced Cristina. Cristina was nearing the end. Sighs of relief were passed around the room as Cristina, thread by thread, sewed Derek back into Meredith's breathing husband. With the last neat stitch, Cristina finally let out the breath she was holding in for the entire surgery. She let her head drop back and let out the breath she was holding in since she broke up with Owen. Something finally lifted.

Cristina met Meredith's wet eyes. Large droplets of tears were pushing out of her worried eyes. "Thank you. Thank you," repeated Meredith. Cristina looked at Derek's vitals to make sure he was stable and then turned to Jackson, who had his eyes affixed on Cristina. "Can you close for me?"

"You're welcome," answered Jackson with playful eyes. "And yes Doc. I'd be honored to."

"Mm. Thanks." Cristina's gratitude came after Jackson's acknowledgement.

Meredith and Cristina walked out into the scrub room to scrub out. As soon as Cristina took her surgical gloves and mask off, Meredith reached and tightly hugged Cristina. "Thank you. And my baby thanks you too."

Cristina smiled, remembering Meredith was carrying Derek's child. "Tell my god-whatever I said you're welcome."

The scrub room door suddenly jerked wide open. Cristina and Meredith instinctively ducked and screamed, unaware of the situation outside of the OR. Callie, alarmed that she scared Cristina and Meredith, quickly answered, "It's me. It's me. Sorry. It's over."

"Oh my God!" yelled Cristina and Meredith. "You could have knocked!" Cristina yelled at Callie.

"Sorry. I was anxious to find out how everyone else was doing." Callie took a look into the OR. "Derek. He's... okay?" Callie cautiously asked.

Meredith smiled and answered, "Yeah, he made it. Well, Cristina, the Cardio Goddess saved him."

Callie eyes returned Meredith's smile with relief and comfort. She slowly turned to Cristina. "Great job."

Cristina beamed. "Too bad gallery was on lock-down. You all missed a good show."

Callie's eyes were still filled with concern and sadness as she turned to look at Cristina. "Cristina..."

"What? Too soon to make killing spree jokes?" Cristina egged on.

_*Ahem*_ Callie cleared her throat. "Um... Owen..." Callie trailed off unable to meet Cristina's eyes.

"Owen. He got out of the OR. With Teddy. He was out." Cristina rationalized in her head, peeved he made his grand escape with none other than The Trigger.

"Well, yea he was..." Callie could not finish.

"What?" Cristina was getting impatient. Something came crashing down within her and shagged breaths were suddenly caught at her throat.

"I'm so... so sorry." Callie stifled a sob, unable to hold back. "Owen... He's been taken to Seattle Presbyterian."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Cristina forced down on the foot pedal and vigorously scrubbed her hands. "What happened? He left the OR with the patient."

Callie stammered, not sure to what extent Cristina wanted to hear of what happened in the ER moments before. "Well... he did take the patient out safely. Teddy took the patient to Seattle Presbyterian... but I think he fought his way back in... for you..."

"Stupid," declared Cristina, her strong yet delicate hands turning red from scrubbing the same spot over and over. "How bad is he?"

"Um... he was shot in the chest..." mumbled Callie.

"Dammit Callie! Talk louder so I can hear!" Cristina raised her voice out of impatience and fear.

"The bullet hit the left side of his chest. He was pretty close to him so the damage is pretty bad. But he's breathing," Callie went on while Cristina took her first breath since Callie's entrance. "He's breathing. The SWAT team took a shot at Gary, which made him miss the heart, directly. The bullet is still lodged and you know that bullet could have nicked anything. I spoke with Teddy on my way here–they were expecting him and had an OR ready for him."

"Okay, thanks," Cristina managed to utter out as she shook her head. Meredith gently placed her hand on Cristina's sunken shoulders. Cristina turned to Meredith. "Let me check up on Derek. I'm leaving after that."

Meredith held her tears in for Cristina. "No, no, it's okay. Go now. You shouldn't be here making sure Derek is okay when Owen is..."

"I need to make sure Derek's covered." Cristina could not drop everything and leave, especially since she already rationalized Owen already might be in surgery, opened and exposed on an operating table.

* * *

Cristina and Meredith walked briskly towards Derek's room. Jackson greeted both of them, finding solace in their presence after the intense situation. "Vitals are stable, breathing is stable. He's not awake yet but should be in a couple of hours."

"Jackson, cover post-ops for me? And can you go and page a cardiac attending. Teddy's not here so try Dr. Klein," ordered Cristina.

"Um... okay but why do you need me and an attending to cover? You and I can do this–you pulled off the surgery, you deserve to stick this one through." Jackson curiously raised an eyebrow.

Meredith met Jackson's eyes and spoke for Cristina, knowing how hard it was for Cristina to address the reality. "Owen's been shot. He's been taken to Seattle Presbyterian."

Jackson's eyes widened in shock. "Is he... o-okay?"

"Page Dr. Klein, Jackson," hurried Cristina. "I don't have time for questions."

* * *

"Dr. Yang," greeted Dr. Klein. "I just heard. Wow. I'm proud of you. You are indeed an outstanding resident."

"Thank you, Dr. Klein." Cristina accepted his acknowledgment. "I just wanted to go over the surgery. The bullet was lodged right next to the aorta. I had minor complications with the bleeder but I managed to clamp and keep the bleeding under control. The tissue damage along the path..."

"Hold up, Dr. Yang," interrupted Dr. Klein. "Quite an accomplishment but no need for a speech. Great job." Dr. Klein squeezed Cristina's shoulder and turned his body away.

"No, no." Cristina immediately stopped Dr. Klein from leaving. "I'm telling you because I need you to know what happened in case anything happens." Cristina could give a rat's ass whether or not Dr. Klein was impressed with her surgical skills. "I'm in a hurry, I need to leave."

"What can possibly be a bigger hurry than this situation right now?" sternly asked Dr. Klein, not appreciating a resident ordering him to take her own case.

"Dr. Hunt, the Head of Trauma, has been shot," explained Cristina.

"Yes, unfortunate, but so has the Chief. Hunt not on the list the last time I checked. He is most likely in surgery over at Seattle Presbyterian." Dr. Klein's mind was still racing from the day's events.

"Yes, but..." Cristina trailed off.

"Look. Hunt's been shot. So has Shepherd. Three nurses are in critical condition, as well. Last time I checked 7 death counts from just the shooting. Half of our attendings are over at Presbyterian. Other half are scurrying with trembling hands, too scared to turn a corner. Operating rooms are being backed up from the investigation and patients are getting sicker from not being properly treated." Dr. Klein was not letting up on Cristina. "Both of our time will be better spent saving lives and doing our job. Dr. Yang, I do NOT have time for this–staying or leaving?"

Cristina looked up and firmly responded, "Staying."

Dr. Klein responded while turning away, "Good. Come with me. Prep for aortic aneurysm, room 2114. Any minute OR is ready, we're going in."

* * *

"Owen Hunt, 38-year old, GSW to the chest," boomed the paramedic into the chaotic ER. "Enter and no exit wound. Immediate return of 800 CCs of blood from the chest. He has a pulse but barely there. Critical."

Teddy pushed as hard as she could and ran as fast as her legs would allow. She barked orders at the residents, "X-ray now. I don't care who's scheduled for it–bump everyone up. We need to get him in the OR as soon as possible." She looked down at Owen and pleaded, "C'mon Hunt, stay with me."

The doctors pushed Owen towards the OR within seconds of taking the X-ray. Owen's eyes fluttered and his face winced reflexively from the sudden movement.

"Owen!" Teddy yelled. "Can you hear me? Stay with me Hunt!"

Owen waved in and out from consciousness, barely able to register what was going on. His mind was racing with one thought running across his mind. '_I'm not dead. I didn't die.'_ A low groan escaped from his throat.

"Don't talk, Hunt. Don't try to say anything, just focus on your breathing," instructed Teddy as she jabbed her fingers on the up button of the elevator.

"Ah..." Owen was pushing out sounds from his tight throat, creating added pain from the pressure. "Cris..." Owen managed to croak out. "...tina..."

Teddy shook her head at Owen's stubbornness in trying to speak. "Yes?"

Owen lifted his head and choked on the words he was trying to get out. Blood gushed and spread a wider circumference on the already saturated gauze.

"Dammit, Owen!" Teddy yelled in frustration.

Owen refused to give up. As he opened his mouth again to speak, Teddy hurriedly answered, "Owen. Cristina's fine. She's fine. Not hurt at all," Teddy reassured.

With that answer, Owen smiled with his eyes and finally relaxed, eyes fluttering back into a absolute blackness.

* * *

After 3 hours of first-assisting Dr. Klein in a aortic aneurysm, Cristina dragged her feet out of the OR only to be met by Meredith. "You're obsessed with my Cardio Goddessness aren't you."

"How'd it go?" asked Meredith. "Cristina... you look tired. Leave, you're done."

"Like I had a choice," grumbled Cristina. "Ow-?"

"Owen, yes," spoke Meredith. "He's still in surgery. I spoke with the staff over at Presbyterian. He went into surgery 2 hours ago. Last update I received was that they have couple more hours to go. The bullet... is still lodged. They are trying to fix the tissue damage surround the bullet before removing it. Because you don't know..."

"Yea, yea," Cristina cut Meredith off as they turned a corner, leading into Derek's suite room. Cristina plopped down on the plush sofa and rubbed her temples. "Christ..." she muttered.

"Derek woke up but he fell back asleep. Let's go. I want to go with you." Meredith offered.

Cristina let out a heavy sigh. "Mer, I don't know if I can do this. Can I handle this? I-I don't know Mer..."

"Cristina, you're worried sick right now. Remember, I was in that position just hours ago. I understand you and let me tell you... you really want to be there when he wakes up. Because he will," reassured Meredith while gently nudging Cristina's leg with her knees.

"Easy for you to say now," responded Cristina. "You should have seen yourself before Derek's surgery."

Meredith let out a sheepish laugh. "Well, then let me be the first to tell you. It's worth it. The pain, the what-ifs, the nausea, the fear... it's worth staying for."

"Wait...you are trying convince me to go to a man you are not exactly fond of," Cristina cut Meredith off. "This can't be the dark and twisty Meredith talking. Must be the fetus. Look at that–fetus is already more mature than both of us."

"Well, I try my hardest to keep that between me and Owen," defended Meredith. "And yes, to be honest, I really do think it _is _the baby talking."

"And what is the baby saying?" A groggy voice cut between Cristina and Meredith's conversation.

Meredith's face lit up as she gasped, "You heard?"

"I think I've been conditioned to wake up to the voices of you two ladies," Derek spoke from the hospital bed.

"Well, congratulations... _daddy_," offered Cristina, emphasizing daddy as if it was an insult. Cristina raised up from the sofa, feeling an urgency to hurry her steps to Owen. Meredith grabbed her arm, "I'll meet you in the changing room. I'll go with you and make sure you're okay. And don't tell me no because you need me right now."

Cristina nodded and left the room for the parents-to-be to enjoy the news in private.

* * *

Teddy turned the corner of the waiting room and recognized a head of curls leaning against blond waves. Teddy sighed and called out, "Cristina..."

Cristina's head jerked at the sound of Teddy's voice. Her legs felt like jello and could not find any strength to push her body to meet Teddy's tired expression.

"Owen's out," started Teddy.

Cristina nodded, knowing she was not done.

"Surgery's over and the bullet's out. Owen lost a lot of blood. His vitals are still weak and heart is very weak right now," explained Teddy.

Cristina's eyes were quickly drowned by tears pooling in her soft brown eyes. Teddy took a seat next to Cristina. "He's on a ventilator for now. As you can imagine, his respiratory system is very weak. We need to vigilantly monitor him until he gains some strength. Next 24 hours is very critical..." Teddy trailed off.

Cristina hastily wiped away the single tear that escaped from the pool. "His mom should know. Have you called his mom yet?" asked Cristina.

"No, not yet. The nurses didn't have her contact information." Teddy answered.

Cristina let out a breath of exasperation. "Did they even check his chart?"

"Yes, it wasn't on it," said Teddy.

"Emergency contact. Of course, it's on it!" Cristina exclaimed in frustration.

"Cristina... you..." Teddy looked at Cristina and spoke, "Owen had you listed as his emergency contact. No one else was listed in his chart."

Sadness engulfed Cristina and wetness streamed down Cristina's broken face as she could no longer hold up the dam.

* * *

"This is a mess," declared Mark, as Callie, Mark and Miranda stormed into the Chief's office.

Webber sat down on the desk with his head in the palm of his head. "Anything new you three would like to share?"

"Yes, actually sir, there is a LOT I would like to share since you seem to have all the time in the world to just sit and ponder on how messy this situation has become," scolded Miranda.

"Bailey," Webber started. "The last thing I need right now is to hear one of your get-up-or-I'll-kick-you-in-the-ass rant."

"Well, maybe if you stepped outside to take a look at the chaos and insanity you wouldn't need us here!" yelled Miranda. "Doctors are dead. Nurses are dead. People are scared. Nothing is being handled other than SWAT team and police instilling fear in this hospital. SOMEONE needs to step up. SOMEONE needed to step up yesterday when the first bullet was shot!"

"So? Derek is bedridden, Hunt is fighting for his life." Webber's voice boomed in frustration. "I am clearly not in a situation to clean up this mess right now. Do you three all need an explanation as to why I stepped down as Chief?"

"Well," pitched in Callie. "It's you right now. Either you need to step up or find someone who can clean up this mess. At least sweep it up for now."

"Yup," Mark replied. "You thought #12 spot was bad. Think where we'll be in a week. There needs to be someone to bring serenity. I'm free you nee..."

Webber held both his hands up cutting Mark off. "Okay. Fine. I heard you guys. I heard all three of you whiners. Now go and run your department before you piss off any other patients–that's the last thing we need here. Go smile, hug them, hold them and make sure they feel that you CARE about them."

"But Chief," Miranda was not satisfied how this conversation was coming to an end.

"I said, go." Webber sternly advised. "I have this figured out. I always do."

Callie, Mark and Miranda exchanged curious looks, all anticipating Webber had something up his sleeve and walked out the room.

Webber leaned back and firmly pressed intercom on the phone. "Patricia."

"Yes, Chief?" inquired Patricia.

There was only one solution to this problem and Webber was going to pull all shots to make this happen. Webber insisted in a clear voice, "Burke. Get Preston Burke on the phone."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"Chief," Burke's voice boomed over the line. "What a mess."

"Yes, hello to you to Preston," answered Webber. "And trust me the last thing I need is another one of you telling me what a mess this is. Save your thoughts."

"I've been calling non-stop," Burke answered while his eyes followed the scrolling headlines on CNN. "Do you know how many times your staff hung up on me without answering a single question?"

"We're a bit busy right now, Preston." Webber rubbed his eyes. "So what's your question?"

Burke asked without hesitation, "Who's been shot?"

Webber quickly scanned his thoughts thinking of those Burke would know. "Derek and Alex. Don't worry, both fine and in recovery. Will be bedridden for couple of weeks but made it through. Actually Derek..."

"That's all?" interrupted Burke. "Just Derek and Alex?" impatiently questioned Burke.

Webber sensed where this conversation was headed and gave the answer Burke was pressing for. "Cristina performed the surgery on Derek and did a fine job at that too."

Burke's stomach dropped to the pit of the stomach at the mention of Cristina's name but let out a huge sigh of relief as he registered Webber's latter words. A small smile lingered on the corners of his mouth. "She's only a third year resident right now. She's... something else."

"Yes, Preston," Webber got to the bottom. "Do you see my problem here? I have third year residents performing surgeries on the Chief of the hospital. I have my Head of Trauma stupid enough to re-enter the hospital and is stepping in and out of the light. I have interns, whom _I_ brought over from Mercy West, never to live their dreams."

"Sounds like a mess," Burke gravely spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Quit it. I called for one reason and one reason only. You're a smart man and you have ties to this hospital you cannot ignore. As a colleague, as a former boss and as a friend, I am asking you for help. We need you here. More than ever." Webber pitched to Burke.

Burke could sense the desperation in Webber's voice. "I already booked the first flight out tomorrow. I can better assess the situation once I'm there."

Burke was always a strong presence at Seattle Grace. "Thank you, Preston."

"I'll be there by 5. But Chief... I can't promise..." started Burke.

Webber cut him off. "I know. You can't promise anything. Just come."

* * *

Cristina quietly dropped off Owen's belongings she picked up from his office and her place. She brought over essential items she could think Owen would need if he woke up. No, when he woke up. She had to train her thoughts to keep telling herself that he would wake up and that it was only a matter of time.

She packed one set of clothes for Owen to wear once he was discharged. It was her favorite shirt of Owen's, the dark blue cotton scoop neck that showed off his manly biceps, and his favorite pair of jeans he wore at least 3 times a week. She brought his olive green jacket he wore all year long, despite the change in seasons. She brought his shaving cream and electronic razor she was sure he was going to need in a day or sooner. She brought his phone and charger so he would not miss any important calls. She brought over the laptop she bought for Owen for his last birthday–after much persistence that he is not a computer person–so he wouldn't be bored passing his day in a hospital bed.

She took a seat by Owen's bedside. A quick glance at the monitor told her there were no changes. She could live with no changes, for now, as long as he would not crash. Cristina gently poked the side of his stomach to see if his body reacted to any movements. Owen was as still as ever.

Cristina wrapped her hands around two of Owen's large and rough fingers. That was all that she was able to hold onto with her small fingers. She grabbed and didn't let go.

"I swear, Owen..." Cristina spoke very softly to Owen's still body. "If you don't wake up... I will never, ever, forgive you. For this, for what happened. I swear... I will hold it against you until the day you..." Cristina choked, realizing where her words were headed. Her hold on Owen's fingers reflexively tightened. She squeezed her hands, physically attempting to hold in her fearful tears. She spoke barely above a whisper, "Owen... we're done... can't be the last thing you heard me say..."

* * *

"Babe," Lynne's voice trailed Burke's busily moving body. "How long are you going to be away for?"

"I don't know," curtly answered Burke while stuffing his clothes into a travel bag. "It really depends what they need me there for."

"Well, from the looks of it, you're packing as if you're never coming back," grumbled Lynne from their bed.

Burke hesitated his packing for a second to give a quick peck on Lynne's pouting lips. "You know me. I just need to prepare for the worst."

Lynne was not amused Seattle Grace called Preston for help, especially with their engagement talk gaining momentum as of late. Lynne had planted the seed and Preston had always been honest, telling her timing was not right. Just last week, she got him to agree definitely by end of this year, he would propose. That had settled Lynne's worries that Preston was not committed in their relationship. And now, he was packing to go back to a place she was a stranger to.

Burke felt Lynne's disappointment in him leaving for Seattle Grace. He knew she did not want him to go so he halfheartedly spoke to appease Lynne, "I spent 7 years in Seattle. I have a lot of friends and colleagues there. Babe, stop giving me a hard time about this," Burke spoke with a hint of annoyance.

Lynne quietly watched Burke in action, not slowing down one bit to look at her in the eyes and tell her why he was so adamant about leaving. For goodness sake, they were having dinner when they first caught the headlines on CNN and Burke immediately booked the first available flight online while calling in to take his vacation days. No, he did not take merely days. He took full 3 weeks off.

Preston hated talking about his life in Seattle. Lynne was never able to get a conversation going with Preston and Seattle. "You hate Seattle. Every time I ask you about your life there, right before you met me, you avoid the conversation like a plague. Can't blame me for my confusion in your actions right now."

"Never said I hated it." Burke walked into the bathroom and started grabbing his toiletries. "It's just hard for me to talk about it. Both best and worst times of my life..." responded Burke in a low voice, half intending for Lynne to hear, the other half getting himself to admit reality.

* * *

"Mrs. Hunt," Cristina stood up to greet Owen's mother.

"Cristina. Goodness child, have you been up all night?" asked Mrs. Hunt.

Cristina rubbed her dry eyes from the lack of sleep. "I'm a doctor. I'm used to sleepless nights."

Mrs. Hunt's deep blue eyes were surrounded by redness from the uncontrollable crying of Owen's news. "Any changes?" she asked while lovingly looking down at her son.

Cristina paused. "So..rry. Not yet. The doctors have been discussing speaking up the output of his blood to his heart. His body is not doing it on it's own so after rounds, they will assess whether or not his body can handle it so soon after surgery."

Mrs. Hunt nodded.

"Please, take a seat." Cristina gathered her belongings. "I need to get to the hospital-my shift starts in an hour."

Mrs. Hunt looked at Cristina with thankful eyes. "You will be back right?"

"Yes, but won't be until after my shift is over. But I'll come after," answered Cristina.

"Good, good." Cristina's words comforted Mrs. Hunt. "I know my son, dear. And I know that he would rather see you when he wakes up than an old lady," Mrs. Hunt joked. "I heard you two were going to move in together. You don't know how happy he was to share the news with me. I would like for you to see that joy when he wakes up."

Cristina let a sad smile take over her face. "Yes... I would like for that too..."

* * *

Cristina joined Meredith, Jackson and Lexie in Alex's room at Seattle Grace and plopped herself down on the couch.

All three heads swiveled towards her. From the actions of her body and expression on her face, they all knew better than to ask how Owen was doing.

"Is Alex alive or are you all just staring at a corpse?" asked Cristina, breaking the silence, with her eyes closed.

"He's sleeping," answered Lexie. "How's Owen...?"

"Fine. Just fine. Sleeping like a dead baby," replied Cristina.

"Cristina, did you get any sleep? You've been up for 48 hours straight!" asked the concerned Meredith.

"I'm trying to set a world record right now, can't you tell?" Cristina asked. "So... what's our day like?"

"I'm not sure. The Chief _'ahem'_ Dr. Webber called for a meeting before shift change at 6. Other than that, same ole-rounds, patients, try not to get shot..." trailed Meredith.

"Do we even have any patients to save?" asked Jackson. "I'd be scared to come to this hospital after what happened."

"You got that right," answered Cristina, eyes closed all along. "No one would want to come here after this mess."

* * *

"Do you need me to find some patients for you or is this a special hospital service they are offering to recovering patients as a way to get back on the operating table?" asked Derek, getting a headache from Cristina and Meredith's gabbling.

"We are with a patient right now–a whiney patient, but patient nonetheless. Don't forget, I am your doctor," answered Cristina.

"Oh, boy. Yang, seems like you are going to have a one-up on me for the rest of my life," smiled Derek. "But you saved a dad so I will absolutely comply."

Cristina was loitering in Derek's room. She needed to immerse herself with noise and people because if she found herself alone, she knew all she would do was hide in an on-call room. Her heart was tired of aching and her eyes hated her for all the tears.

"So what should we name the baby?" Meredith brought up.

"Wow, three days, just a bunch of body of jumbled up cells and you are already thinking of names." Cristina shook her head. "Who are you?"

"Don't worry," smiled Meredith. "As soon as the excitement dies down, you are going to hear me freak out about having a person in my stomach."

Their light conversation was broken up by Webber entering the room. "I see you three are all very busy. Good to see our money going towards something worthy. Well, I have news to share with you three."

All three exchanged looks. Frankly, none of them were prepared for another unexpected news from Seattle Grace.

"Everyone will know by 6 but I thought I should discuss with Chief and you two definitely need to hear. Preston Burke is arriving today at 5 to help out with the situation," Webber announced.

Cristina heard the name Burke and immediately challenged, "And how is he going to be of _any _help?"

Webber turned his eyes towards Cristina to directly address her question. "Yang, as long as Derek is bedridden and Hunt is tied up to a ventilator, Preston's help will most certainly be needed."

"Fine, point taken." Cristina grudgingly acknowledged, then brusquely asked, "Can I leave at 5 today?"

Webber's eyes softened as he replied, "Yes, yes you may Cristina."


	4. Chapter 4

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

_Cristina dragged her feet one step at a time up on the spiral staircase. "How much longer?" complained Cristina._

_Owen smiled while clenching his hand tighter around Cristina's delicate hand. "We're almost there," answered Owen. _

"_That's what you said 5 minutes ago," grumbled Cristina._

"_Yes, and I offered to carry you up when you first complained," teased Owen, fully enjoying this childish side to Cristina he had yet to see at work. "Offer still stands."_

"_No, never." Cristina stubbornly refused. The last thing she wanted was Owen to treat her as a weak and needy person. She was determined to make it to the top on her own._

"_Promise, almost there," assured Owen, while giving a tight squeeze on his hold._

_After two more laborious minutes of Owen dragging Cristina up the stairs, they finally reached their destination. Owen stepped forward and opened the doors. Cristina, out of breath and legs still shaking from the climb, bent over to catch her breath._

"_C'mon," Owen urged while gently tugging Cristina's arm._

_Cristina looked up and saw the shimmering back drop against Owen's piercing blue eyes. She gasped at the beauty and jumped the last two steps in one leap and ran outside._

_It was a clear black night–darkness swallowing the only two beings in sight. The only source of light they had were speckles from above. But these speckles were more than enough. Hundreds of shimmering and sparkling stars were plastered against the black sky, almost as if winking and celebrating the two that came for a visit to the top of the lighthouse. _

"_Oh my god, it's beautiful," marveled Cristina, unable to tear her eyes away from the glitzy sky._

"_Yes, yes. Beautiful indeed." Owen agreed, never taking his eyes off Cristina. The glittering sky stood no chance against Cristina's beauty. He took in the moment to relish Cristina's beauty. He stepped forward and wrapped his strong hands around her petite waist. Cristina leaned forward to give a quick peck on Owen's lips. "Thanks for dragging me up here." She turned around and Owen weaved his hands with Cristina's, making sure they had a tight hold on each other._

"_So was this worth giving me a second chance?" Owen whispered in a low voice._

_Cristina merely nodded, unable to formulate in words how awestruck she was by the sight before her. She decided to let her lips speak for her against Owen's lips. She tried twisting around to face Owen. Owen's hold only grew tighter around Cristina. Cristina became frustrated at Owen's refusal of letting her meet his lips and tried wiggling out of Owen's grasp. Owen held on even tighter. Cristina, refusing to give up, pulled harder and struggled against his grip. "Let me go," she insisted, while tugging away…_

Cristina jerked her hands around, waking herself up in the process. A bit disoriented from the slumber, Cristina took a second to wake up and focus on her surroundings. The beeping sounds on the monitor, along with the stale hospital smell brought her back to reality. She looked down at her hands and saw she was gripping Owen's rough hands. She sighed, realizing it was only a dream.

Cristina released her hands, wanting to stretch from being in the same position for hours. She let go but her hands refused to disconnect with Owen's. Thinking it odd, Cristina pulled her hand away once again, only to be met with a strong grip. Cristina's lifeless hands were being refused to let go by Owen's. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up to meet Owen's blue eyes.

Cristina was fully alert and wide awake. Her eyes and mouth dropped in surprise. "O-o-wen?" Cristina finally managed to stammer out. "Can you hear me?" she cautiously asked, almost afraid this was another dream.

Owen nodded without blinking, without taking his eyes off Cristina. He was unable to talk with the ventilator but his eyes let Cristina know he was conscious and back. Cristina quickly rose to press the button to alert the nurse and doctors. Before she could reach the button, Owen gripped the hand that was still holding onto Cristina's. Cristina halted and looked below meeting Owen's eyes.

Owen wanted to hold onto this moment as long as he could. He was unable to process what had happened and what his condition was. The only thing he knew and the only thing that mattered was that Cristina was sleeping in his room, holding his hand and waiting for him. That was all that mattered and he wanted this moment to last forever.

With her free hand, Cristina took a minute to caress Owen's face and gently laid a kiss on Owen's forehead. She kept her lips there while whispering, "Welcome back, Owen…"

Cristina could not waste any more time without fully knowing Owen's current condition. She pressed the button before Owen could object once more.

Within seconds, the room was filled with nurses, residents, interns and two attendings, including Teddy. "He's awake?" asked Teddy, stepping into the path towards Owen.

"He's awake," answered Cristina. "I don't know for how long. I fell asleep but he was awake when I woke up," explained Cristina. Cristina knew running tests and scans were in order for assessment for Owen's post-op condition. She stepped back to let the doctors step in and order everything that was necessary in order to ensure a full recovery. She was met with a firm grip that pulled her back towards the bed. Owen refused to let her go, stopping Cristina from leaving his bedside.

"Let go," softly demanded Cristina. "You know the drill, they need to run tests."

"No, no, stay." Teddy stopped Cristina. "We can do it on the other side." Teddy walked over to the opposite side of the bed and starting on the check up. She checked his vitals, listened to his heart beat and checked his reflexes. Teddy frowned in disapproval. "His vitals are still so weak. It shouldn't be like this." Owen's heart rate was still abnormally low and his lung function was only 50% it's capacity. "We need to take him up to X-Ray and see if there's anything going on internally," Teddy said to Cristina.

Cristina took her free hand and gently held down on Owen's hand while finally taking her hand out of his grip. "Go, go," Cristina insisted. Teddy took a final glance at Cristina as they hurriedly wheeled Owen out of the room.

Cristina looked at the empty, dark room. The bustling of activity that overtook the room in seconds was now met with an empty silence. Cristina's hands shook and her body trembled as her body began to feel the effects of what just took place. Relief flooded every single cell in her body and the tightness in the pit of the stomach she felt for days was gone. Her body, limp and weak, slumped down on the cold floor as Cristina clutched the floor, unable to control the tears of relief that splattered onto where Owen existed moments before.

* * *

(Two days later)

Burke scribbled away signing hospital forms. The mindless required task at hand allowed his thoughts to wander to a dangerous territory. He was thoroughly amazed and slightly annoyed Cristina had gone so out of his way that he still had yet to come across her way despite 4 days of working at Seattle Grace. He was everywhere, as acting Chief and filling in for two attendings, and yet, he was not even greeted by the backside of a head full of curls. Burke simply shook his head in amazement at the willingness of Cristina Yang and once again, realized she must never be underestimated.

The game had gone long enough. Burke was signed on for 3 weeks and they were bound to meet each other sooner or later. He decided to make this happen instead of waiting for Cristina to come around. He was presented with a VIP cardiac case afternoon and had assigned Cristina on his service. He shrugged on his white coat and closed the door behind him. He took large, steady strides to where Cristina would be awaiting for her assignment.

/

Burke held in his breath as he saw a head full of wild curls leaning against the nurses' station. Jitters took over his body as he, all of the sudden, found himself mentally unprepared to face Cristina. His legs, however, betrayed him as they took quick steps to reach the woman his heart once beat for.

Cristina knew it was only a matter of time before she had to face Burke–she'd just prefer later than sooner. Unfortunately, she was paged from the Cardiac wing and her instinct told her she would be working with Burke on a specific case. Cristina unwillingly, dragged her heavy feet towards the station and fully prepared herself to face Preston Burke in all his glory.

"I knew you couldn't ignore a cardio case," a familiar calm voice came from behind.

Cristina took a small breath before turning around to meet Burke. "Some things change. Some things don't," replied Cristina. She looked up, meeting Burke's eyes for the first time in over two years. He was Burke. Tall, confident, handsome and calm. His stance and demeanor reeked the Burke that had once roamed these halls. His eyes, however, told a different story. His eyes were tired, worn and sad. They looked weak and Cristina did not like that one bit.

"You seem to have mastered this avoiding game." Burke said in an even tone despite his heart loudly thumping in his chest.

"Not at all," disputed Cristina. "Rusty in fact–didn't have any reason to practice." It was a low stab at Burke and Cristina caught herself after her words came spilling out. Burke remained silent. "So what do we have here?" asked Cristina, breaking the silence.

"Your favorite," replied Burke while taking the case binder from the desk. "It's complicated, unpredictable and challenging, and of course, cardio." Burke presented the case to Cristina, as his first peace offering during his stint. "Post-op complications. He's amassed some tissue buildup since the surgery and we have identified two clots surrounding his heart. If we don't get those clots cleared, his heart is not going to make it."

Cristina clutched the case, the complications, far too familiar to her ears.

"He's a transfer patient from Seattle Presbyterian. Should be arriving in an hour," Burke went on. "Actually, you should be familiar with him–I understand he's a doctor here."

Cristina barely opened the case, snapped it shut and tossed the case binder as it landed with a thud in front of Burke. "Not interested," Cristina said in a cold tone. "I want off this case."

Burke was taken aback at Cristina's refusal to participate in a cardio case that was rare, given the situation that it was a GSW and not textbook material. He quickly grabbed Cristina by the arm as she was turning to walk away. "No. You are on my service." He was determined to create as many opportunities with Cristina as limited time at Seattle Grace would allow. He bore his eyes into Cristina's withdrawn eyes, "Dr. Hunt will be arriving in 20 minutes. Prep for surgery." He pushed the binder back towards Cristina and walked away.

Before turning right at the end of the hallway, Burke took a glance back to the nurses' station. He was shocked to find Cristina still planted at the station with her head held up by her hands. Whatever it was that Cristina glanced on the case report had a profound effect on her and a nagging feeling told him it was far beyond playing the avoiding game.

* * *

Burke did not need to go far to find out an explanation for Cristina's out of character reaction. He walked into Derek's room with chart in hand, checking in on his condition.

"Twice in one day. They must really have needed you," joked Derek.

"Just concerned for an old pal," answered Burke, making sure he was satisfied with Derek's vitals. "If the doctor who performed surgery can't make the time to see you, then I guess I need to take over Cristina for time being."

Derek and Meredith exchanged uncomfortable looks as Burke carelessly dropped Cristina's name without a change in expression.

"We're professionals, Cristina and I," Burke started. "I met her and it went fine. So cut the looks or you two will make it uncomfortable."

Meredith gave a sheepish laugh. "Sorry, Dr. Burke. It's just that… I think it's… If it was me…"

Burke smiled. Yes, Cristina and Burke had always been oddly functional at work despite even when their personal lives were in shambles. It was a special relationship and only those two in the relationship understood. "Yes, well, it's fine. I actually assigned Cristina to the incoming cardiac case. I'm sure you both know the doctor that was shot. Mm, what was his name? Hunt. Yes, Dr. Hunt." Burke shared with two sets of eyes that widened in shock.

"Cristina is on Hunt's case?" asked Derek half in shock, half in amusement.

"Yes, it _is _cardio. It will be a great learning experience," answered Burke, curiosity rising from Meredith and Derek's reaction.

"Wow," Derek was unable to keep his reaction from the news. "She agreed?" Derek asked again, to make sure.

Burke raised his eyebrow. "We discussed and she asked to be taken off. I refused her request and she didn't ask me twice."

"I guess it's best for Cristina to take care of Owen before and after surgery," mumbled Meredith. "I mean, I wanted to be in your surgery, so it kind of makes sense…" Meredith trailed on to Derek.

Derek couldn't help but notice the surprise that encircled Burke's eyes, despite his effort in maintaining his calm and collected poise. "Oh…" Burke took off his glasses and started feeling around for his cloth. "I get it… Derek to you is Dr. Hunt to Cristina…" Burke verbalized it out loud, letting it sink to the depths of his heart. It finally came together like puzzle why Cristina barely even looked at the chart before refusing the case.

"Was." Meredith broke Burke's train of thoughts. Derek jabbed Meredith, hinting she was giving away too much personal information. "It's already out there, might as well as be the truth. Was. He couldn't even tell her he loved her so, was," said Meredith in a tone dripping with bitterness and resentment.

* * *

The beeping on the pager informed Cristina Owen had arrived and would be ready for prep. Each step she took towards Owen's room was heavy like an anchor to the floor. She dragged, unable to think, to breath and to see. Her pager impatiently beeped once again that alerted her they were all waiting for her. Dragging the pull of her feet that felt as if she was fighting her way out of a quicksand, she entered the room to be greeted by Burke, Teddy, Jackson and the intern, Maria.

"Took you long enough to get here," Burke acknowledged Cristina into the room.

Cristina ignored Burke's comment and stood behind the doctors, away from Owen's vision.

"Dr. Avery and Dr. Tucker already prepped for surgery so we are ready to go in," said Teddy. She looked at Owen, who, unlike the state of calm recommended before surgery, was fidgety and unnerved. "Cristina," Owen called Cristina over.

Cristina stepped forward next to Owen's bedside. Owen gently took her hand and stated, "I don't want you on my case," while looking directly at Preston Burke.

"She already asked and I said no," answered Burke without backing down from Owen's intense glare. "Doctors are not allowed to treat families, only. The last time I checked, you are not her family in any shape or form. As an attending at Seattle Grace, she is your student and nothing more than your colleague," Burke stated the cold reality, clear and point blank.

Anger flashed in Owen's eyes. "Unless you hear directly from Cristina or myself, you have absolutely no right to tell me who is my family and who is my colleague." Owen tore his blazing eyes away and bore into Cristina's. He tightened the grip on Cristina's hand and in a possessive, yet protective, tone stated, "Cristina, get off this case."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Tension that could be cut with a knife reverberated in the room. Teddy and Jackson exchanged anxious looks as Burke quietly waited for Cristina's answer to Owen's demand of Cristina staying off his case. Owen and Cristina held each other's stare, reading their souls with their eyes.

This banter between Owen and Burke was embarrassing and childish play to Cristina. She was not someone whose decisions were made on her behalf. "No, I'm staying on," Cristina answered while holding Owen's gaze.

Disappointed, Owen loosened his grip on his hand, as his eyes weakened at Cristina's refusal.

Cristina quickly took over the hold on Owen's hand as she continued, "I'm staying on your case. I will be in charge of prep and all post-op care. I will be in charge of hourly monitor until you are no longer a patient at Seattle Grace." Cristina then slowly turned her head to meet Burke's gaze. "And I will not assist on the surgery. I will not step a foot inside the OR as long as Owen is on the table." Cristina firmly stood her ground.

Cristina's last two statements pierced right through Burke's heart. In front of Burke stood Cristina, still vibrant and ambitious as ever. However, behind the vivacity that was once his, stood a woman who was compassionate and loved without bars. An unfamiliar side of Cristina. Burke pulled tooth and nail to break down Cristina's tough as nails steel walls only to realize at the day of the wedding that that Cristina was nowhere to be found. However, two years later, without Burke by her side, Cristina had evolved into the woman Burke wanted to marry that fateful day. For this Cristina, he would have waited for 100 years for her to come around. Burke bit his lips, afraid to say something inappropriate, and merely nodded towards Cristina.

"Okay," interrupted Teddy, breaking the deafening silence. "Let's head to OR 1 team."

"Wait, wait." Owen stopped Teddy. "Can you give me a minute with Cristina?"

Teddy glanced at Owen as it finally hit her like a truck that she never stood a chance between these two. It couldn't be clearer than this present moment that she was always standing in the middle of the battleground with no opponents and no spectators. A bit embarrassed of her realization, she sternly stated, "Fine. Just 5 minutes though–we _need_ to go in."

Cristina trailed the group until she reached the door. "Jackson, wait for me outside while I talk with Owen? I'm going to need help bringing him up."

"Okay," Jackson agreed. "I'll be right here."

Cristina closed the door and turned around to an empty room with just Owen and herself. The stillness of activities brought time to a halt and stretched the space in between.

"Jackson?" Owen noted Cristina's usage of the first name. "That's a change."

"We're friends," said Cristina. "I underestimated him."

"Are you admitting you were wrong about someone?" asked Owen, curiously rising at Cristina accepting 'the entitled brat' as a rivaling colleague.

"Did you ask everyone to clear out so we can discuss my relationship with Jackson?" Cristina asked dryly.

Owen smiled, finding himself enjoying the Cristina he had come to love. "No, of course not. Come here," Owen stood up to sit straight and scooted over, making room for Cristina on the bed.

Cristina walked over and stood by Owen's bedside. Owen patted his hand softly on the vacant spot and Cristina sat on the edge of the bed. The mere inches of space between them felt like miles to Owen. His heart dully ached to see Cristina hesitating to be close. Taking it upon himself to draw the closeness, Owen inched closer to Cristina so that his thighs were grazing her lower back.

"Did you see your mom and your sister? They were waiting for you." Cristina asked in a small voice.

"Yeah, they came in before the prep," answered Owen, warmth spreading within at the idea of Cristina getting acquainted with his family. Owen lifted his arm and softly caressed Cristina's elbow. "Karen was really glad to have finally met you."

Cristina acknowledged Owen's sister's pleasure with a small nod of her head.

"You still haven't mentioned what happened between us," said Owen, his hand not once stopping from rubbing along Cristina's arm.

"Owen," started Cristina. "This isn't what we should discuss right before your surgery. It's not the right place and definitely not the right time. We have bigger issues at hand."

Cristina felt Owen's heavy sigh from behind. "I cannot not ask. This is the only issue to me that is worth discussing." Cristina held down her head, curls bouncing up and down from the shaking of her head. Owen pressed on, "I need… I need for us to be okay before I go in."

"You'll be fine. Surgery will go fine. We have time to discuss." Cristina stopped Owen, wanting to get the surgery done and over with so they can move on with their lives. "Dr. Burke… is the best."

"Not exactly what I want to hear right now, Cristina." Cristina couldn't help but notice a hint of annoyance in Owen's tone.

"He's the best doctor for this." Cristina clarified, aggravated Owen was putting words in her mouth.

"Did you know he was coming?" asked Owen, unable to avoid discussing Burke.

"No, found out the day he arrived," answered Cristina.

"Are you okay with him being here?" Owen cautiously asked.

"It's fine. If I had a choice, no, he would not be here. But whatever, it's fine. I have enough on my plate that Burke isn't even a blip on my radar," Cristina did her best to assure Owen this was not going to be an issue.

"Okay, then can we start talking about the other issue on your plate?" insisted Owen.

Owen's request was met with silence by Cristina. Owen was determined to get Cristina talking on her feelings of the situation.

"You have to know that I love you… you have to, Cristina," pleaded Owen, inching closer to Cristina, while wrapping his one arm to hold Cristina firmly in place. Cristina finally looked up and slightly turned her face to meet Owen's face.

"I… I don't need to hear you say I love you everyday…" Cristina started. "In fact, I don't even need to hear it every week. Frankly, that would just annoy me because I wouldn't say it to you that often anyway."

Owen nodded, letting Cristina go on with her point.

"But, the _one_ time I needed to hear it from you…" Cristina's eyes glazed over with a film of tears, unable to hide the internal hurt. "…when you knew I had all these doubts. You couldn't say it the _one_ time I needed you to, Owen."

They were finally talking and that was all Owen could ask for from her. "I froze. I screwed up," explained Owen. "I was caught off guard. The fact that we were in that place, where you had to ask who I loved… I-I couldn't understand the question."

With an equal amount of pain etched on his face, Cristina could not turn away from Owen's tear filled eyes.

"The fact that I made it get to the point where you had to asked me… I was angry, in disbelief and in shock. After you left, I realized what just happened, and Cristina…" Owen looked down, angry at himself for ruining something so perfect, "…not answering you was the biggest mistake of my life."

Cristina tried with all her might to stay strong but her emotions were taking over at a rapid pace. Before she was able to swallow the lump and blink away her tears, two tears escaped forming drops on Owen's thighs. Owen hurriedly reached out to wipe the tears that were now flowing freely from her eyes.

"There was always only one answer. It always had been you only I was too fucked up to see it." Owen elaborated, "I have problems. I have too many issues. Sometimes, my mind can't even tell the difference between reality and past. I am triggered, severely by Teddy. She is my past following, lurking behind me. And then I lose grip on reality and I lose myself."

This was the first conversation Owen had expressed such internal issues regarding his condition. Exasperated, Cristina asked, "Why couldn't you tell me this from the beginning? Why couldn't we save all this and just get to the problem?"

"Because you," Owen defended himself. "You are the only thing that is real in my life and I know _we_ are real. You put the pieces together for me. You put me together when I start falling apart. Can't you see Cristina? I couldn't drag you down with my triggers and my past because I needed the _one _real thing in my life to be there."

Cristina turned her body towards Owen so her body, face and soul was now facing directly and connecting with Owen's.

"I fell in love with you the first time we kissed. I felt something right here," said Owen while laying the palm of his hand over his heart. "When I came back to Seattle and saw you at the hospital," Owen sheepishly smiled, not believing he was revealing what he went through in the beginning. "You don't know how hard I tried to keep away. I wasn't good for you and you deserved better, I told myself everyday. But it was just impossible. I couldn't stay away from you." Owen took his hand off his heart and caressed Cristina's hair. "I fell fast and hard. But it wasn't lust. As corny as this may sound, I knew I loved you. I loved your hair, your laugh, your humor, your lips, your voice, your body... I fell in love with everything about you, Cristina."

Cristina was unable to tear away from Owen's endearing eyes.

"That day, I finally realized that my past was Teddy. My screwed up head finally saw that Teddy was the past and my love for you is the present." Owen leaned closer, trying to gauge Cristina's reaction to the space.

"Give me another chance, " he whispered. "Tell me I can create a future with you. Take pity on this fool and let me build a future with you." Owen fully leaned close to Cristina and gently captured her pouty lips with his. He laid soft kisses, taking time to nibble on her soft lips. Cristina held onto the back of Owen's neck, allowing herself to be taking in by Owen.

'_Be-be-be-beep,'_ Cristina's pager went off but Owen showed no sign of separating from Cristina. Cristina gave a final long kiss and slowly withdrew from Owen to check her pager. "OR-1. They want you in now," Cristina stated, getting up from Owen's bed. She walked across the room and reached out to grab the handle on the door.

Before opening the door, Cristina turned around and called out, "Owen." Owen's tense eyes were already trailing every movement by Cristina. "We're…okay."

* * *

*note: I don't know if this was successful but I tried my best to clean up the mess the writers' got themselves into for season 6 Owen. And now, I also created a problem for myself since I wrapped this chapter up with a nice big bow. I need to start thinking about future plots and direction of this story, yikes. hope you enjoyed reading, thank you for the reviews and I'll try my best to get the wheels in my head turning!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda & Co.

* * *

Cristina stepped into the scrub room after Owen's surgery was over. Cristina opened the door and found herself facing Burke and Teddy, scrubbing out after the surgery.

"How'd it go?" Cristina asked Teddy.

"Very well. Dr. Burke was able to remove the clots with no complications. One clot broke off from the right ventricle which formed pulmonary emboli, hence his difficulty in breathing," explained Teddy. "But rest assured, Dr. Burke removed all the clots. Owen's in the clear as far as we can tell."

Cristina nodded. She did not expect anything less from Preston Burke. Cristina had built trust in Burke's surgical skills and having had worked intimately alongside with Burke calmed Cristina's nerves well before Owen even went in for the procedure.

Teddy left the scrubbing room after giving Cristina the update. The rushing sound of the water from the scrubbing sink was amplified by the stillness in the room. Cristina gathered her hands and shifted her eyes to meet Burke's tired eyes. "Thank you, Dr. Burke," Cristina formally offered her gratitude.

Burke stopped the scrubbing motion of his hands and lifted his foot off the foot pedal, stirring a buzzing silence in the room. Burke had enough of Cristina's formality and her making it a point that they were no longer 'C' and 'B'. She was making it clear as day that their relationship is nonexistent and they are intimate as strangers passing by during their morning commute. After all they had been through, Burke was astounded Cristina was not tearing his head off, let alone asking a single question, especially not even bothering to ask why the hell did he agree to come back to Seattle.

Cristina felt her innards twist from Burke's silence. She almost expected Burke to ask her million questions as soon as she offered her thanks. However, Burke had surprised her by not speaking a word, not even attempting to apologize, not even bothering to ask how she was doing. Cristina quietly turned on her heel and motioned to head out when Burke's words halted her exit.

"If I have an explanation…" started Burke in a soft tone, "…will you hear me out?"

Cristina closed her eyes clenched her fingers into a ball as she fought the urge to ask Burke what good would it do to hear an explanation that was two years overdue. Instead, without turning around, she managed to muster out, "Silence suits me just fine," and continued her exit on Burke.

* * *

Cristina walked into Owen's room after surgery to find Teddy explaining post op status to Mrs. Hunt and Karen. Cristina turned around to leave them in privacy when Mrs. Hunt held her back, "Cristina, stay."

Teddy took the hint that this was a family affair and excused herself out of the room.

"Thank you for keeping us updated during his procedure," Karen thanked Cristina as her eyes looked protectively down on her younger brother.

"Of course," answered Cristina. "You two were probably more concerned that I was."

Mrs. Hunt motioned Cristina closer to the empty chair. "Come, sit."

Cristina politely refused with a small smile. "No, that's okay. You can take the seat. I have some patients to check up on."

"Oh, right," Karen spoke up glancing at Cristina's attire. "You're still in your scrubs. Good thing my brother's girlfriend works at the same hospital or he would have been much more grouchier the past few days tied up to tubes and machines. He always had this thing every since he was a little boy that he was as tough as the Terminator. That cost him plenty. More broken bones than we can count, right mom?" joked Karen.

"That sounds like Owen," answered Cristina, reliving their first encounter. "The first time I met him, he stapled himself with a gun without being numbed."

"That's my son all right," Mrs. Hunt peered below and took Owen's hand in hers. "Tough as a bull on the outside but the most gentile being on the inside."

Glad to see Owen being in the comfort and care of his family, Cristina left Owen's room in peace.

* * *

"You paged?" Cristina asked Tyler.

"Yeah, Hunt," Tyler jerked his head toward Owen's room.

"Hunt what?" asked Cristina. "Is he okay? Did you page Burke?"

"Calm down, Dr. Yang," Tyler answered. "He's fine. His family left to pick up his relatives at the airport and he's alone. I thought you'd want to keep him company."

"Hello–isn't that what we have nurses for?" asked the incredulous Cristina. "I don't have time to babysit. Seriously."

Nurse Tyler quickly answered, "Well, you check up on him every hour and always run away whenever his family or Dr. Burke is in the room. I thought you'd appreciate my tip."

"Yeah, whatever," mumbled Cristina, while looking at Owen's room down the hallway. She started making way when she saw Teddy approaching from the corner and dip into Owen's room.

/

"Looking good, Hunt," declared Teddy while checking his chart. "Tough guy–making it through two surgeries in four days. There's a reason why you were able to handle five years in Iraq."

"Ha, who said I handled it," scoffed Owen. "Iraq did a far bigger number on me than this bullet to my chest."

Teddy put on an uncomfortable smile as she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"So, are you talking to me now?" asked Owen. "Geez, was that all I needed to do–get shot in the chest for you and Cristina to start talking to me?"

Teddy smiled at Owen's words as she took a seat by his bedside.

"So…" Owen sat upright to maintain eye level with Teddy. "How much of our conversation did you overhear at the staircase?"

"Mm…" Teddy pondered. "Let's see… I confuse you, you don't know what you feel about me because I remind you of dead bodies exploding, I remind you of Beth and I'm tied to all your triggers. Does that answer your question?"

Owen put down his head. "So you heard everything."

"If I wasn't the center of the juicy conversation, I would have enjoyed it. But… being tied in it all, those words hurt, Hunt," said Teddy.

"I'm sorry," apologized Owen. "I didn't mean for you to hear it, and I most definitely did not mean to hurt you."

"But you did mean those words?" asked Teddy.

"In a private conversation with Cristina, yes," explained Owen. "I did mean to say what I did. I was being honest and that was my true feelings. I wasn't sure because ever since you came to Seattle Grace, I've been triggered. Do I trigger you?" asked Owen.

Teddy found it impossible to tell Owen how he had the adverse affect on Teddy. Instead of Owen being the cause of her insomnia and nightmares, he was actually the one that put her mind to ease whenever she panicked or could not go to sleep at night. He was her pillar since she came to work for Seattle Grace and never once did she stop to wonder if she was the same for him. Now she realized that she had the opposite effect on Owen throughout all this time and dammit, it hurt to realize the truth. She had a little bit more of an inkling as to why Owen could never be honest with her and his feelings. He knew it was going to hurt her.

"Trigger?" re-asked Teddy. "No, you do not trigger me." That was the most she could offer to Owen. "How bad are your triggers?"

"Pretty bad," answered Owen. "Ever since the suicide assisted patient, I've been triggered to what happened with Dan. It's been bad and I've been out of it for weeks."

Teddy nodded, unable to offer any words since she was the one who asked Owen to be on the case. "So… you blame me for your triggers?"

Owen sighed, unable to hide away from the truth any longer. "I want to get better Teddy. I need to get better in order for me to move on with my life. I can't keep being dragged into something that happened during the war. My life is going to freeze in those moments which means, life will essentially be hell for the rest of my life."

Teddy looked down, unable to keep Owen's hold on his eyes.

"That's why I asked Derek to hire the other guy. I'm sorry Teddy. I care about you and I really never meant to hurt you. But it unfortunately came down to having to choose between not hurting you or Cristina…"

"And you chose Cristina," whispered Teddy.

"Yes," firmly replied Owen. "I love her. She is my present and I am going to try my darn hardest for her to be my future."

"You created such a big mess by bringing me in, Hunt," Teddy joked while words wavering from choking back her tears.

"Trust me, I'm well aware," Owen shook his head while staring out the rain streaked window.

"So what now? I've been offered full time, I'm here, you're here and Cristina's here," Teddy asked about their future.

"I learned this the hard way… and it wasn't an easy decision to make," started Owen. "I realized… it's hard for me to get better with you here, Teddy. Requesting as a friend to a friend, to someone who I know wants me to get better and wants me to get the war out of my head, I need to ask you to…"

"Go someplace else." Teddy finished Owen's words, knowing how hard it was for Owen to make that request. "Well, I'm already one step ahead. I already put in several inquiries to my contacts on the East Coast."

Owen finally found a smile to put on his face. "You have always been a good friend, Teddy."

"Cristina!" a woman's voice carried into Owen's room. Owen and Teddy exchanged confused looks. "What are you doing just stand-…" the voice trailed off and dissipated into thin air. Owen and Teddy smirked, both realizing Cristina was standing outside Owen's door during the conversation.

"Guess there are no secrets between us three anymore," said Teddy while rising to leave the room.

Owen smiled, a bit worried on Cristina's take on the conversation barring how much of it she overhead. "Thanks Teddy. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"Oh, I will. You owe me Hunt, making me come all the way to the West only to push me over to the East," jabbed Teddy. As she walked towards the door, she was bum-rushed by three red-headed rambunctious boys screaming, "Uncle Owen! Uncle Owen!"

* * *

* Owen redemption #2. After I posted my previous chapter, I tried going back to watch season 6 and found myself unable to watch past episode 13. I wonder if the writers know the extent of how far they screwed up Owen's character. I'm thinking #3 redemption between Owen and Meredith is also needed. I will be ecstatic if I am able to convince 1 person that the real Owen is not the douche as he was written to be in season 6. Hope you enjoyed the read, thank you for the reviews and please review if you were inspired so I know I'm doing my job!


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you all for reading, reviewing and supporting this story!

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"Boys! Boys!" Karen ran into the room pulling Nathan and Noah down from their attempts to climb into Owen's bed. "Uncle Owen is hurt right now, you cannot jump on him."

"Yet," chimed in Owen, beaming from the excitement from seeing his three nephews. "When I'm better, I promise you two can stomp on me all you want," said Owen as he ruffled the curly tops of the twin's heads. "Karen, did you run into Cristina outside?"

Karen's eyes nervously darted around as she answered, "Cristina? No, you must have heard me calling out her name. I was just looking for Cristina because I had to ask her something and I wasn't sure where she was so I was asking around but no one seem to know where she was so I had to ask really loud," Karen babbled on.

The Hunts were not good liars and Karen's incessant ramblings only got worse with age.

"Cwis! Cwis!" Joel, the smallest of the three, waddled towards Owen's bed, waving his arms wildly around his head.

"Yes, Jo?" asked Owen. "Did you see Cris outside?"

"Cwis!" beamed Joel, his short arms barely past his head, still waving frantically around his head.

Owen burst out into hearty laughter as he finally got Joel's wild behavior. "Yes, Jo. The woman with the crazy curly hair is Cristina," said Owen as he lifted the small toddler onto his bed and gave him a kiss on the head. "Missed ya buddy."

"No fair mom!" The twins cried out. "Why's Jo on the bed and not us!" They pushed their lips to form the biggest pout they could muster.

"It's because Jo is not out to kill me unlike you two," explained Owen while messing with their hair. "Look at you two, almost ready to go to college."

"Ew," spat out Nathan. "I _hate_ school. I'm _never_ going back to school. I'm getting my third grade diploma and that's it!"

"I want to at least finish the sixth grade, bro," disputed Noah.

"If you both want a bed to sleep at night, I suggest you both finish school," advised Owen. "So where did Cristina go?" he asked Karen.

"Cwissssss!" Joel squealed in delight.

"Oh goodness. She ran away," revealed Karen.

"Why do you even bother trying?" asked Owen. "Good thing I have my man Jo looking out for me."

* * *

"Dr. Hunt," Jackson walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Dr. Avery," Owen acknowledged Jackson's entrance. "Thought Cristina was in charge of monitoring," contested Owen.

"Um, she had to see a patient." Jackson offered a half-assed explanation as Owen's raised brows clearly indicated he knew she was avoiding him.

Owen dropped the conversation. "Dr. Avery, my family," Owen introduced his mother, sister, brother in law, and three nephews all crowded in Owen's private room.

Jackson checked Owen's vitals and heart beat. He made a note of all the current vitals as he was very pleased with Owen's recovery rate. "Looking good, Dr. Hunt. At this rate, you can even be discharged in a week."

Owen's family all released a sigh of relief as Mrs. Hunt clutched her son's hand. "Thank you Dr. Avery," expressed Mrs. Hunt.

"No, no, please. I'm only a resident. Dr. Burke is the one to thank. He did an excellent job and the surgery was near perfect," explained Jackson.

Owen's tightened at the sound of Burke's name. As much as he owed him one for performing a complicated surgery with such perfection, he could not help but be affected by his return at Seattle Grace. Burke's return unsettled Owen and he could not help but believe it had something to do with Cristina.

Karen immediately saw Owen's face tense up from the mention of Dr. Burke. She scratched her head, thinking it odd that Owen always wore such distaste on his face whenever Dr. Burke was in the room or merely mentioned.

* * *

"Cristina, you owe me another one," said Jackson as he approached Cristina and Meredith hanging out at the station. "Dr. Hunt clearly knew I was lying."

"Hello. That's what friends are for," replied Cristina, with complete nonchalance.

"Well then I don't know how well this friend thing is going to work for us," replied Jackson. "Hunt's whole family thinks I'm the shady one here."

"Ha, so you met them all?" asked Meredith. "I took a glimpse, the boys are so cute. Never saw so many redheads in a room at one time."

"I know, it's like someone set the room on fire," joked Cristina.

Jackson and Meredith both let out a loud laugh, finding it even more amusing at the fact that Cristina was taking stabs at her own boyfriend's family.

The laughter spurred Cristina to continue, "I swear, one step in and you will turn into a redhead. Why do you think I'm staying far, far away?" Cristina noted Jackson and Meredith's laughter turning into serious looks as they both alerted with their eyes.

"We are indeed a redder than most redheads," a voice came behind from Cristina, "And trust me, I understand it is rather comical to group together 10 redheads in one room," said Karen.

Cristina's jaw dropped. It was bad enough that Burke's mother's first impression of Cristina was that she was a racist stripper. It always seemed to be Cristina's fate that she never failed to leave the most offensive first impressions.

"You heard me wrong," quickly clarified Cristina, while turning to meet Karen. "I love redheads. I've been dating one for a year and a half and love his hair. I love the color red, did I mention that?" Cristina could not find the plug to her mouth. "His red hair and his bright blue eyes. Red and blue–so complimentary to each other. I _love_ it." Cristina clamped up, shutting herself up from further discussion of primary colors.

"Hahaha," Karen broke into a fit of laughter as she met Jackson and Meredith's laughing eyes. "Cristina, no offense taken. Please. You think that's the worst we heard? Poor Owen hated his hair so much in high school that he dyed his hair every color of the rainbow. It was only years later when he realized he never had a girlfriend in high school not because of his red hair but his blue hair!"

Cristina released her tension and let out a small laugh, envisioning Owen with blue hair. "Did he think it went well with his blue eyes?" Cristina couldn't help but ask.

"You know him so well," answered Karen. "He's a simple guy. Thought blue went best with blue. Only I wasn't nice as an older sister to tell him any better. I let him be and Cristina, it was _soooo_ worth it," explained Karen, with a twinkle in her eye.

Cristina had an immediate liking towards Karen. She found Karen to be funny and liked that she did not offend her as much as she normally offended strangers.

"Cristina, do you have time for some coffee?" asked Karen, hoping to catch some quality time with Owen's girlfriend.

* * *

"Hey you guys can leave for dinner," announced Karen as she entered the room. "I would like some quality time with my brother."

"Honey, you need to eat too," said Mrs. Hunt with concern in her voice.

"Mom, I'm not going to die if I skip a meal. Besides, I have a date with Cristina," Karen said with a wide smile, catching Owen's surprised eyes.

"Oh, that's lovely honey," Mrs. Hunt beamed as well. "I'll take the boys out with Peter."

"Thanks mom." Karen turned to her husband, "Be back by 7? I promised to meet Cristina then."

Peter nodded and gave a quick peck. "Be well my man. I'll eat for two, just for you."

"Thanks. Remember I like my meat rare. Bye mom. Bye boys, behave!" Owen said his byes from his bed, quickly wanting to clear his room to talk to his sister about Cristina.

"So, not only did you manage to track down Cristina, you struck a date with her. I'm impressed. It took me weeks to get to where you are." Owen said in complete awe.

"Kid, you've always been too slow for me," kidded Karen.

"Seriously, how did you do it? She's been avoiding this room the whole day. Well mostly me…" Owen trailed off, still uneasy that Cristina had yet to come to his room after she overhead the conversation he had with Teddy.

"Actually," Karen chewed her lips as she was curious as well. "I was surprised too. I asked her for coffee and she said she gets off in an hour and asked to grab drinks instead. Anything I should know before I get to know Cristina?" Karen asked.

Owen burrowed his eyebrows at Karen's question. "Just get to know her. But don't ask her too many questions–she finds that annoying. Just ask the right amount of questions," he offered to Karen.

"That face you have on right now worries me," said Karen. "Something's up and you're not spilling. Why did she run away when the blonde doctor came out of your room and why is she avoiding you?"

Owen sighed at Karen's perceptiveness of the situation. Not much went past his sister and she never held back on calling him out on his mistakes. Owen hesitated, not knowing how much to share, where to begin, what is trivial and what is important for her to know.

Karen sensed Owen's hesitation. She was used to Owen clamming up when it came to spilling the beans. He was never articulate with words and only came to Karen after a giant spill. That was Owen and how he handled, or rather, did not handle situations.

"C'mon," coaxed Karen. "I really want to start off on the right foot with Cristina and I think I need to know some things before I meet her tonight."

"Ahhh…." Owen muttered, dragging out his words. "Mmm… Right before this whole shooting thing, she broke up with me." It was like Owen to start from the end and never the beginning.

"What?" Karen's eyes widened. "Wait, you two aren't even together?"

"No, no. I think we are. She said we are 'okay'. I didn't want to push my luck so I left it at that. But I think we are?" Owen was still confused. The damage in their relationship was too large for one talk to make everything fall back into place and Owen knew that too well.

"Oh, you idiot," Karen gently slapped Owen on his arm. "So why'd she break up with you?"

Owen winced recalling their week before the shooting. The tumultuous week of arguments, tears, silence and hurt. "She asked me if I loved her or Teddy… that blonde doctor." Owen pulled the words out deep within, hating himself with every word that came out of his mouth.

"Goodness," Karen feared the worst. "Please, please, please don't tell me you answered Teddy."

"Worse." Owen answered in one breath, "Icouldn'tgiveherananswer."

Karen furiously shook her head in disbelief. "Owen, for heaven's sake, I've never even heard of her! You turn into a lovesick puppy whenever you mentioned Cristina to me and mom and… I've never even heard of this blonde!"

Owen tore his eyes away from his angry sister and looked outside, reality of his stupidity hitting him like bricks falling from the sky.

"Wait… do you have feelings for this other doctor?" asked Karen, almost afraid of Owen's answer.

"I did. We served in the army together and I did have feelings for her then," explained Owen. "That was when I was with Beth so nothing ever happened. But I did then." Owen reflected on the times he struggled between loyalty to Beth and feelings for Teddy. "I was confused… Geez… I was in a desert with 18 male doctors and 1 female doctor and nothing happened between us. If that wasn't a sign of never going to happen, I don't know what is." Frustrations quickly built up inside Owen as clarity was finally pushing his way into his thoughts.

"You idiot." Karen sternly chided Owen.

"One more time, I don't think you've made that clear enough," tiredly answered Owen.

"You idiot." Karen firmly repeated. Her tone softened as she continued, "Owen… when you left for war, that was the last glimpse of the Owen mom and I knew. You came back year after year as a changed man and it saddened us that our Owen was nowhere to be found…"

Owen continued staring out the window.

"Then something miraculous happened," continued Karen. "One night… after weeks of hearing you were back in town, mom called me in the middle of the night, in tears, so excited to share that our Owen was back. Our Owen who left us to go to war was back home."

Tears sprung to Owen's eyes hearing this story for the first time.

"I-I couldn't believe it," Karen choked on her words as well. "The next time I spoke with you, you probably don't even remember–it was a short, 5 minute conversation. Just catching up, making sure the boys are well, that you are doing well. Owen, I will never forget the lightness in your voice and the last thing you said– 'Sorry I'm in a rush I have to go meet Cristina.' I could almost hear your smile from the other end of the line."

"I-I…" Owen started. "I do remember that Karen… I was grabbing my stuff from my place when I called you to check in." That was the first night Owen slept over Cristina's place after the choking incident. He was tempted to call his mom and sister after knowing that he and Cristina were finally ready to move forward.

"That's when I knew how you found yourself back home. Cristina–she's very special, even to me and mom," Karen shared with Owen. "I can only imagine what she means to you."

Owen closed his eyes, wanting to end this conversation for the truth was becoming too painful for Owen to swallow.

"And you fucked it up," Karen chided Owen once again.

"Dammit, Karen!" Owen yelled. "Enough. I know. Trust me I know better than anyone and you're not helping." Owen barred Karen the facts on his PTSD, not wanting to cause concern for Karen and his mom but he knew no matter the explanation, he hurt Cristina in ways he never intended to.

Minutes of silence lingered in the room. Owen checked the clock and saw it was 15 minutes before their meeting time. "Go meet Cristina. She's punctual so she might be waiting. Shouldn't keep her waiting…"

Karen grabbed her belongings and stood up. "Nice talking with you."

"Yeah," mumbled Owen.

"Hey, by the way," Karen stopped to declare, "I'm Team Cristina."

Owen scoffed at Karen's corny declaration.

"But I'll try and put in a good word for you," Karen left Owen to bask in curiosity and anxiety to the discussions that were in store for his sister and Cristina.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda & Co.

* * *

Cristina rushed into Joe's twenty after seven to meet Karen and found her nursing a drink at the bar. Cristina hoped meeting for drinks rather than coffee would settle the nerves and the conversation would flow a lot smoother over alcohol than coffee ensued jitters. Despite the rationale, butterflies were swarming as Cristina found herself late for drinks with Karen.

"Sorry, Karen," greeted Cristina. "Did you wait long?"

"Oh, no, just got here." Karen lied, sparing the details of how Owen kicked her out of his room extra early and was now on her second drink. She did not mind since it gave her time to loosen up for her date with Cristina. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me. I know you're tired from work."

"Work is the least tiring in my life, rest assured," Cristina replied while signaling to Joe for her regular vodka tonic. "How long are you staying in Seattle?"

"Just three more days until Owen is discharged. Can't have the twins missing anymore school and Peter has to go back to work. But we're all really glad to have been able to come down for a week. Especially now that Owen's okay. And Joel loves you, although I think it's your hair more so than you. Owen didn't even mention his nephews did he? That's so like him. Do you know how Owen told us of him joining the Army?" asked Karen, unable to stop her rambling thoughts with the help of her two drinks.

Cristina shook her head, having never heard of the story of how Owen broke the news to his family and Karen explained, "He showed up Thanksgiving dinner in his Army gear and asked if he could crash the night to catch a morning flight out. He apparently had training for the next month. You should have seen Beth's reaction–she was enraged."

"Beth didn't even know he signed up for the Army?" asked Cristina, surprised Owen would hold back on something that important.

"No, she knew," clarified Karen. "She just had no idea when he was scheduled to leave. But you know what I think? I think Owen knew; he just never ran it past her. He was so excited to leave to serve the country, that's all he ever could think about."

Cristina took a long sip of her drink, not quite sure how to react.

"I'm sorry. Is this making you uncomfortable?" asked Karen, noting Cristina's silence.

"No, not at all. It's interesting to hear about Owen before the war," replied Cristina.

"None of us were able to say this to Owen but you know we all knew Owen and Beth were not meant to be…" mused Karen. "Michael really took Owen on as his son after our father passed away. Owen shut down his feelings after our father passed and Michael was able to fill that void. Owen always felt indebted so he proposed to Beth, thinking that was the right thing to do."

"Still doesn't excuse the way he broke off the engagement," argued Cristina.

"Oh, so you do know. He's lucky to have wiggled his way out of that one. Yes, don't worry–he received a lot of heat about that from everyone around him. Not his proudest moment but he never fails to mention he never regretted the decision. That's Owen–he knows what he wants, just never knows how to go about getting it…" reflected Karen.

A brief awkward silence passed as Cristina occupied herself by taking another long sip to relax. Luckily, Karen took the moment to continue the conversation. "Please feel free to let me know if I'm crossing any lines during the conversation. Owen told me not to ask you a lot of questions. He said you get annoyed if you're asked a lot of questions."

"Geez, way to really put me on the pedestal as the best girlfriend in town," quipped Cristina.

"Haha," Karen loved Cristina's sarcastic humor. "No, he was just trying to make sure our meeting went well. He already screwed up with you so I'm sure the least thing he thought he could do was make the family and girlfriend meeting go as smooth as possible. He's walking on a million eggshells right now, that poor thing."

Cristina laughed and asked, "So you know what happened?"

"I know the gist of it. I pulled tooth and nail to get him to tell me what I should know before the meeting," explained Karen. "Idiot," said Karen while raising the drink to toast with Cristina.

"Idiot," Cristina responded and clinked drinks with Karen.

"I'm not sure how the relationship was before all this. Owen barely talks to us about the details, as I'm sure you know. But I do know that you mean a lot to him. He never fails to mention you in a conversation. He lights up when we ask about you. If a stranger heard Owen talking about you, they would think you two were married with kids. He also told me not to talk about future with you and him but this isn't me talking–it's the alcohol talking."

Cristina smiled and lifted her glass to acknowledge Karen's comment. "Been there, done that. Agreed to move in with Owen under the influence."

Karen's joking smile slowly turned into a forlorn expression. "So you two are definitely broken up?" she asked.

Cristina sighed as she replied, "Well we're not moving in together, that's for sure. Broken up… it's a work in progress, Owen and I," answered Cristina, gladly accepting an outlet for her thoughts. Cristina had been holding back on talking with Meredith about her and Owen, not wanting to be influenced by Meredith's natural dislike for Owen. Talking with Karen was effortless and easy, despite Karen being Owen's sister.

"No pressure, Cristina," offered Karen. "I like you not because you are Owen's girlfriend but I get a good vibe from you. From what I know regarding the situation, you deserve more than what Owen has been and can give to you right now."

Cristina nodded, surprised at Karen's support.

"But Owen can give you a future. There's a lot bottled inside him that he has yet to let out to you. He is madly in love with you and from the looks of it, seems like an incurable virus. He's beating himself over it a lot right now. Before you make the decision, personally, I would like for you to give him one more chance."

Cristina acknowledged Karen's request. "Of course, it's not easy for me to let go either."

"But if you decide he's not the one…" Karen trailed off…. "I know a great lawyer. I can see you two really hitting it off, hahaha!"

Cristina burst out into laughter at Karen's last comment. "As long as he didn't serve in the Army, I'm game," Cristina joined in Karen's carefree laughter. Weeks of fighting, angst, shooting and surgeries felt all trivial in this moment. It felt good to drink, joke and laugh about life.

* * *

"Hey, you're home," Callie greeted Cristina.

"Yeah, just getting some things for the night," replied Cristina while pouring herself a glass of white wine.

"How's Owen doing?" asked Callie, holding out a glass for Cristina to pour.

"No idea. Haven't seen him all day." Cristina took a sip from her wine and settled on the kitchen counter.

"You're amazing." Callie lifted her glass to salute Cristina's ability to work while her boyfriend was recovering from a life threatening surgery.

Cristina shrugged, not exactly sure of why she spent the whole day avoiding Owen when in this moment all she felt was a sudden urge to be in his arms. "That's what all my boyfriends tell me," she joked.

"Stop torturing him and go to him already," Callie insisted, shaking her head at Cristina. "You're a difficult person to be in a relationship with you know that?" softly chided Callie.

"Oh, please. What do you know?" defended Cristina.

"You had to have seen him Cristina. He was tortured in that ER. He was a mess the day of the shooting," Callie explained.

"Let me take a wild guess–you're going to tell me how much he loves me and how I should be nicer to him," guessed Cristina.

"Well, if a man declares to the ER room how much he loves the woman and how he's not scared to die if he can't live a life with that person, I can't help but persuade to get your ass over to the man who's probably been waiting for you for every second of the day," advised Callie.

"I know, I know. I'm leaving soon." Cristina sipped her wine. "So you and roller blade chick?"

"Together," curtly replied Callie.

"Baby not an issue?" asked Cristina.

"No, still an issue. But we'll work it out," confidently answered Callie.

Cristina nodded and repeated. "We'll work it out…"

* * *

Cristina stepped into Owen's room to find his bed empty. She crooked her head, searching for signs of Owen and noticed the bathroom door shut closed. She dropped her bag and coat on the couch and sat herself down on Owen's bed and waited.

Owen took his time brushing his teeth and shaving his facial hair. He waited hours for Cristina, after his family left and reread her text _'See you later. Will be there tonight.'_ more times than he was able to count. Peeved and not knowing what to do with his time, he finally started getting ready for bed around 11pm.

Owen stepped out of the bathroom to find Cristina perched on the middle of his bed. Her loose wild curls hid her face, which was bent down, checking the Blackberry. He sighed and leaned against the door, crossing his arms. Still annoyed at having been waiting for at least three hours, Owen curtly said, "Hi," forcing Cristina's attention away from her phone.

Cristina tore her eyes from her phone and lifted her face to meet Owen. "Hi. Getting ready for bed?" asked Cristina. Aware of Owen's aggravation upon her late arrival, she offered a placating apology, "Sorry I'm late. I got held up with Callie at home."

Owen nodded, never failed to be amazed at how Cristina held his emotions like a roller coaster. Only Cristina had such extreme controls of Owen's feelings. As soon as he heard those words escape from Cristina's parted lips, all feelings of annoyance disappeared as he was genuinely glad she finally came to see him.

Owen slowly walked over and stood in front of Cristina. Cristina motioned to get up but was held down by Owen's strong hands on both her shoulders. Curious, she looked up and met Owen's piercing blue eyes. Without breaking off the gaze, Owen moved his one hand from her shoulder to cup Cristina's face. He ducked his head to give a soft peck on her lips while saying the only thing he wanted to tell her the whole day, "I missed you."

Cristina was taken aback by Owen's showing of affection. She held back and merely responded, "Mmhmm," not returning the peck.

Owen felt a pang of hurt at Cristina's unresponsiveness. He moved his hand from her face to embrace the back of her neck and pulled her closer to his lips, taking over the soft lips coated with taste of sweet white wine. A barely audible whimper escaped from her lips, firming Owen's hold on his hand behind Cristina neck. He held on, pulling Cristina closer and refused to let her escape from the moment. "I missed you," Owen repeated more determinedly once again without parting from her sweet tasting lips. Cristina finally relented and kissed back, stroking his clean shaven face.

They parted to fill their lungs with much needed air. Cristina took this moment to get up and give the bed back to Owen. "C'mon, get back into bed," demanded Cristina.

"Fine, but only if you get in with me," Owen stubbornly requested. "Stay with me tonight."

Appeased with Cristina's nod, Owen finally moved back on his bed and pulled Cristina down next to him. Cristina snuggled into the nook Owen had created and pulled the covers over them both.

"So…" started Owen after finally finding their much needed alone time after a long tiring day. "What took you so long to get here?"

"I told you, I got held up by Callie," answered Cristina, drawing lazy circles on Owen's right chest.

"I mean today," clarified Owen. "I haven't seen you all day. And don't say working–you're on my case and I'm your patient." Owen made sure to not give Cristina any wiggle room.

"Just needed sometime to think," vaguely responded Cristina.

"About me and Teddy's conversation?" Owen asked bluntly. "Couldn't you come and talk to me about it without running a mile on your thoughts?"

Cristina momentarily halted to register Owen's question. "It's not what you think. I'm fine with what you said to Teddy."

"Then what?" Owen spat out in frustration. "Why were you avoiding me the whole day? I can't read your thoughts in general, let alone in this hospital bed. Think with me."

"Same thing what you're thinking all day, I bet," answered Cristina.

"What, us, Teddy and Burke?" Owen revealed his running thoughts for the whole time he was in the bed. Teddy he had finally found some clarity and took actions to fix the situation. Now, their relationship and Burke's return ran a marathon in Owen's head every minute he was awake. "Are you working with him a lot?" Owen tried to scope out how much of interaction Cristina had with him on a daily basis.

"Not if it's not regarding your case. Barely see him," replied Cristina. "I said don't worry about Burke."

Owen pulled Cristina closer to him under the covers at her response. "I know you said you're okay with him being here. But I'm not. I'm not okay with him being here," expressed Owen.

"This isn't up to you or me. He was called back to act as Interim Chief and it's not our call to have him stay or leave," pointed out Cristina, wanting Owen to see Burke's presence was pointless to argue.

"If you asked him to leave, he would," refuted Owen. "I'd be okay if you asked him to leave. I'd understand." Owen assured Cristina, while reaching underneath her shirt. For the first time in weeks, his rough hand were reacquainted with Cristina's firm and flat stomach. He palmed his hand flat against her stomach, enjoying the velvety touch under his coarse hands.

Cristina took a sharp breath at Owen's sudden contact, drawing in her stomach. Owen immediately frowned, noting how his large hand covered the whole of her stomach. "You lost weight," said Owen in a concerned tone.

"No, I just didn't have dinner tonight," quickly replied Cristina and tried pulling Owen's hand away from her body.

Cristina's weak tug on Owen's arm had no effect on his strength. Owen moved his hand to stroke the side of her stomach and felt the bumps on her ribcage. His hand trailed up to her chest, grazing her small breasts while thumbing the chest bone that was more protruding than Owen was used to feeling. "Dammit Cristina. You need to take full lunch breaks and eat dinner," chided Owen, fully knowing in times of stress Cristina dealt by working until her body and mind were physically too tired to think.

"You need to stop molesting me," sternly said Cristina, while more forcibly pulling down Owen's hand from her chest. He rested his hand momentarily on her stomach, relishing the skin to skin contact before pulling out and mumbled, "Sorry, I'm just concerned…"

Cristina resumed drawing circles on his chest while silence lulled in the room. Minutes passed before Cristina could not hold back any longer from asking Owen, "Owen…" she started. "Do you feel indebted to me?"

Owen stopped his stroking of her hair and harshly spat out, "No." Owen took a breath to answer in a softer tone, "No. If it's what I think you're asking, no. I told you before and I'll tell you again, I'm with you because I want to be. Because I love you."

Owen's answer was met by Cristina's silence. "Tell me what I can do to erase those doubts. I'll do anything."

Cristina pondered, not having answers to Owen's requests. "Just… be honest with me and give me time to build my trust for you again," she answered best to her ability.

"Of course. But you have to ask me questions if you are unsure, okay?" pleaded Owen. "And if there is anything I can do, you have to let me know."

"What if…?" asked Cristina in small nervous voice. "What if I can't rid those doubts? What then, Owen?"

"You have 38 years to let me back in. I'm sure we can working something out within those years," replied Owen, half-joking and half-serious.

Cristina formed a small smile on her face at Owen's reference of his promise of 40 years. "Why 40 years?" she asked, finally finding the right time to hear his answer.

It occurred to Owen that moment that he never gave an explanation of his 40 years statement. "Because…" explained Owen. "My mom and dad spent 40 years of their lives together. They met when they were 20 and fell in love at first sight. Everyday of the 40 years they spent together until my dad passed away, they were in love. You were the first to ever make me feel I can also have those 40 years with someone." Owen stroked the side of her face, forcing Cristina to face him. "Besides, I knew if I asked for a lifetime, I would have had you running for the door," said Owen with a sparkle in his eyes.

Cristina pressed her lips to Owen's neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"But…" Owen continued, making Cristina lift her head to meet Owen's eyes once again. "I am ready to ask for a lifetime with you." Cristina's eyes slightly widened at Owen's declaration. "I know you're not there, I know. But I'm ready for a lifetime with you. I'll wait until all your doubts are erased, until you can trust me again and until you want your lifetime with me. I'll wait. Let me know and I'll ask you again then."

"And if I still don't have an answer when your 38 years is up?" jokingly asked Cristina.

"Then I guess I have to put it in my calendar to ask you for another 40 years then," seriously answered Owen.

"Works for me," said Cristina finding her place back in Owen's hold.

Owen turned his head to kiss Cristina on her forehead. "Good night."

Cristina responded to Owen by mumbling, "I love you…" and rested her eyes for much needed sleep.

* * *

For Owen lovers, sorry for making him grovel so much to get Cristina back. I'm really upset at season 6 Owen, if you couldn't tell. Thank you SO much for reading and letting me know how much you are enjoying this story. I hope this chapter did not disappoint...!

lucyybella: not sure if Owen has a sister but yes, I created Karen for this story and I really like her too! (FYI-I also killed his dad as well, haha)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Cristina was gathering Owen's discharge papers at the nurses station when Burke appeared from behind. "Dr. Hunt's clear for his discharge–early even."

Cristina stacked the papers and answered, without turning around, "He's a strong man."

A smirk crept on Burke's lips at Cristina's implication. "I notice you're still in your scrubs. Not leaving with him today?" Burke asked, curious whether or not they were living together, knowing Cristina would take the hint from his question.

Cristina knew Burke's passive-aggressive questions like the back of her hand. "What's the point–I'll see him when I get home."

"Dr. Burke," interrupted Nurse Debby. "Please call Lynne back. She's been calling non-stop. We have jobs here and our responsibility does _not _include being a messenger for you and your fiancé."

Burke awkwardly cleared his throat and mumbled, "Sorry, about that." Cristina looked up with a look of amusement and slightly surprised at Nurse Debby's remark. Burke fumbled for his pen while stating, "She's not my fiancé."

"And you should really go home to see your fiancé, Burke." Cristina let out a scoff louder than she had intended.

Burke dismissed Cristina's reference of Lynne as being his fiancé but could not easily let her suggestion of him leaving pass without being addressed. "You really want me to leave the hospital?" asked Burke.

"Yes," Cristina answered in a strong voice. She looked directly at Burke's serious eyes and firmly replied once more, "Yes, I think it would be for the best."

"Best for who?" probed Burke, curious whether or not Cristina's thoughts meant any more than she implied.

The room went still as Cristina silently answered Burke's question. It was best for Owen and Cristina's relationship in order for them to move forward. It was best for Owen–who still remained uneasy at Burke's return–and she was sick and tired of arguing with Owen regarding third parties. A ball of apprehension formed at the pit of her stomach as she realized no matter how much she denied this to Owen, Burke's return would eventually have an effect on their relationship. Burke needed to leave fast before any damage could be done.

"Best for who?" repeated Burke, not failing to recognize Cristina's forehead scrunch as she was thinking to herself. Too many times in their relationship did Cristina make it obvious she was thinking but refused to share what she was thinking. Old habits did not die hard and it drove him crazy now just as much as it did when they were together.

"Is Owen ready for discharge?" Karen's voice interrupted Cristina's thoughts. Karen noted Burke's intense stare from down the hall and did not hesitate to interrupt whatever conversation was going on between the two.

Cristina let out a small sigh of relief at Karen's questions. "Yes, we're ready. Just about to head in to sign the papers," answered Cristina.

"Great!" chirped Karen. "Peter went to go get the car. I'll meet you out at the front, can you bring Owen out?"

"Okay, we should be there in about 10 minutes," replied Cristina as she gathered Owen's chart and motioned towards his room.

* * *

Owen, restless at having been trapped in a hospital room for a whole month, paced back and forth in his room, eager to be released. He contemplated paging Cristina to hurry up when Cristina and Dr. Burke entered the room with his chart.

"Why are you pacing?" interrogated Cristina.

Owen ignored Cristina. "Finally," said Owen in an impatient tone as he reached to grab his chart from Dr. Burke.

"Have a seat Dr. Hunt. We need to go over discharge instructions," calmly stated Burke.

"I'm a doctor, I'm well aware," scowled Owen.

Cristina silent scolded Owen with her eyes at his unnecessary rudeness. Owen met Cristina's eyes behind Burke and sat himself down on the bed. "Okay, tell me what I already know."

Burke cleared his throat. "I understand you have argued your way to come back in three weeks of discharge. During those weeks, limit your showers to 10 minutes and definitely, no baths," Burke emphasized. "Do not lift objects greater than 20 pounds, you can do light chores but no standing in one place for longer than 15 minutes–you can gradually increase as time passes. No driving for the first 6 weeks and try to squeeze in a daily walk. The rest of the instructions on the papers but keep these in mind for the first 3 weeks. When you return, you do realize you will be limited to strictly paperwork and diagnosis. You will not be able to operate until at least 8 weeks from now."

Owen rolled his eyes at Burke's attempt to be a doctor in front of a doctor. "And how long do I have to wait until I can have sex?"

Cristina's eyes widened at Owen's petty question. They were all doctors in the room and the answer to that question was something all doctors, without fail, knew during their first week in med school. Cristina shook her head in disapproval.

Owen saw Cristina's shaking of her head from behind and immediately felt guilty at his possessive instinct that overrode him whenever the three were in the room. He had an unnatural instinct to lay claim on Cristina in Burke's presence and Burke's 'teaching' moment turned Owen into a petty green monster.

"Eight weeks," Burke curtly answered and left the room.

"Bullshit," Owen spat out as soon as Burke left the room.

"Oh please," Cristina pushed the wheelchair towards Owen. "You asked fully knowing the answer. Thanks for making it unnecessarily uncomfortable."

Owen shrugged, bothered by Burke's curt lie. "I don't need a wheelchair, I can walk out."

Cristina gave a firm look, not bothering to state the obvious that all discharged patients must be escorted in a wheelchair. She already had been thoroughly irked of Owen trying to prove his machismo whenever he got a chance.

Owen hated being a patient who needed care. He wanted to leave the hospital on his own two feet without having Cristina having to wheel him out to the front entrance. He was a simple man who took care of himself and didn't need assistance from his petite girlfriend.

"No one cares, Cristina," begged Owen. "They're not going to say anything if I walk out of this room on my own."

"Dammit, Owen," said Cristina in an irritated voice. "Why are you being so difficult on your last day? This is why I hate patients," grumbled Cristina, genuinely concerned at having Owen in her place as a patient for the next 6 weeks due to his inability to drive and accessibility to the hospital.

"I promise, I'll be a better patient for the next 6 weeks," pleaded Owen with his soft blue eyes, determined to make the most of the 6 weeks Owen was able to get consent from Cristina. Owen rose and grabbed Cristina's hands. Taken aback at the beauty of Cristina's soft doe eyes filled with concern, he slightly squeezed her hand and assured, "I promise, I'll be good. I'll be good to you."

Cristina allowed herself mere seconds to take in the moment before averting her eyes and pulling her hand out of Owen's grasp, "I'm not walking out hand-in-hand with you in front of this whole hospital," and walked out with Owen right alongside her.

* * *

Cristina acknowledged Jackson and Lexie at the bar while taking an empty seat besides them and motioned Joe for a vodka tonic. "Long day?" Jackson toasted to Cristina as her drink appeared. Cristina nodded and cheered.

"Why are you at Joe's?" asked Lexie. "Shouldn't you go home to Dr. Hunt?"

"Why are you here?" Cristina repeated Lexie's question. "Shouldn't you play nurse to Alex. You might want to think about switching careers–you're quite good at being a nurse."

"I hate Alex!" vented Lexie. "He's cranky, he complains, he's ungrateful, he bitches. He's the worst patient ever. Ever!"

"That doesn't sound like the worst patient," argued Cristina. "That sounds like Alex being Alex."

Jackson laughed. Cristina made him laugh like his guys friends back in college. She was the perfect person to wind down at the end of the day. "You should be the last one to speak. You've been complaining about how Hunt is staying at your place after discharge. I don't even know why you agreed to let him if you're that bothered by it."

"Shaddup, what was I supposed to do–make him go home and trap him inside for the next 6 weeks?" challenged Cristina. "Cardio goddesses have far more important things to do than play chauffeur to your immobile boyfriend."

"Oh yea, like what? Like playing a nurse to one?" asked Jackson with a smirk.

Cristina wasn't used to most guys being able to make comebacks as quick as she was able to. "You think fast Jackson." Jackson lifted his drink to acknowledge Cristina's compliment. "Fast like a girl," Cristina finished her compliment and took a long sip of her drink.

Cristina scanned the room, losing interest in Lexie's venting on Alex. She was drawn to Teddy sitting across from the room, nursing a drink in her hand while staring blankly at the drink in front of her. Cristina reflected for a minute before deciding to accompany Teddy for a drink.

"Hey," said Cristina, breaking Teddy from her thoughts.

"Hey," Teddy answered, surprised to see Cristina at Joe's. She pulled a chair for Cristina and motioned Joe for a round of drinks for the two.

"Been here long?" asked Cristina, noting Teddy's eyes glazed over with alcohol.

"An hour of so. Dr. Burke took the case today so got off early. No one to go home to, no one to see so just came to good ole friendly Joe's. I really like this place," Teddy slurred her words.

Cristina nodded, clearly noting Teddy's intoxicated state and immediately regretted taking a seat by Teddy.

"I'm taking three days off next week. I have two interviews scheduled. I have a lot of contacts from the East Coast, mainly from New York. So I called and they asked me to come in for interviews. Finally being offered the Head of Cardio after 9 months of working at Seattle Grace, I decide to switch jobs. They all asked why I was looking to relocate. Damn Hunt…" babbled Teddy.

Cristina shifted in her seat, uncomfortable to have this conversation with Teddy. Teddy, too drunk to notice Cristina's tension kept going on.

"I feel like such a fool. After two years of not seeing each other, Hunt called me out of the blue. We talked here and there but never initiated to visit me or asked me to come. Then all of the sudden, he called me offering a job here in Seattle and I was damn excited. Imagine my surprise when I realized he brought me in as a gift for his girlfriend." Teddy caught Cristina's uneasy darting glances. "I'm sorry, you're probably the last person I should be saying this to. But I need to vent because my only friend in Seattle wants me to leave. For the same reason he brought me on. For his girlfriend–how ironic!" Teddy let out a laugh in disbelief as her eyes reddened with tears.

Cristina motioned to Joe for a glass of water for Teddy. Teddy unraveling in front of Cristina made her realize how Teddy was hurting as well. Cristina pushed the glass of water towards Teddy.

"Thank you," Teddy took a large gulp. "You two are really good together. I really like you and you are an amazing student to reach. I completely get why Hunt is in love with you." Teddy hastily wiped a tear that dropped from her stinging eyes. "It wasn't easy getting to a place to accept you two as a couple but I'm here now. But you can't blame me for taking this long. Cristina, you offered to trade Owen in order for me to stay. You offered to end it with him so I can have him and you can have me. It was obvious Hunt was in love with you but I had my doubts for you," honestly voiced Teddy.

Cristina nodded, fully aware of the choices she made in the past. She did make the choice to give Owen up for Teddy and even till this day, she was not sure whether or not she would have let Teddy leave the hospital that night.

"But I get it now. I get that it's just you two and there isn't a place for me here in Seattle even just as your teacher." Teddy clumsily grabbed her wallet from her purse and called Joe over to call a cab.

"Teddy," Cristina stated knowing she would never hold a conversation with Teddy as honest as tonight. "If you were not a trigger to Owen's PTSD… if you did not hinder Owen's progress in forgetting the war… if you were just a woman in the past Owen still had feelings for, I would not be okay with you leaving Seattle. I hope you understand the difference. You were the best teacher I've had and it was a great honor learning from you," Cristina spoke, intermittently taking sips of her drink for her words to flow smoother.

"Thank you, Cristina." Teddy grabbed her purse and stumbled trying to rise from her seat. Cristina caught her arm and steadied her as Teddy regained her balance. Teddy's eyes, moist with tears, softened as they met Cristina's eyes, "I've loved Owen for four years but I'm letting him go now. Don't doubt his love for you because any blind fool would be able to see how much he loves you, so please, be good to him."

Teddy, embarrassed and drunk, walked out of Joe's into the chilly night finally letting go of the past that haunted her for four years.

* * *

'_Can you call me before you go to sleep?'_ Cristina received Owen's text as she was leaving for Joe's. She quickly replied, _'Okay, call you in an hour'_ and headed back to her place. Owen was staying overnight with his family at his mom's house before Karen and her family's flight in the morning.

"Hey you," Owen answered in a tired voice.

"Hey. Hope I didn't wake you." Cristina picked up on Owen's low tone and regretted not texting before giving Owen a call.

"No, I was waiting for your call," said Owen. "I wanted to talk before I went to sleep."

"How was your day?" asked Cristina.

"Good. Kids wore me out so a bit tiring but good," answered Owen. "How was yours?"

"Great–scrubbed in an aortic aneurysm and finished in record time." Cristina left out the bit that the surgery was with Burke. "Dropped by Joe's after for a drink."

Owen nodded and fought against pushing for more details. He wanted to avoid surgery and work talk as much as possible. "I see, with?"

"Jackson and Lexie, and ran into Teddy there," immediately answered Cristina.

A brief silence passed before Owen continued, "How is she?"

"Ask her yourself. Give her a call when you have a chance. She has two interviews next week and you should touch base with her directly." replied Cristina, not hesitating to advise Owen to reach out directly. "I'm not getting in between," said Cristina while biting her tongue from completing her sentence with the word '_again.'_

"You're never in between," said Owen in a tight voice.

Cristina picking off Owen's slight attitude in his last comment merely stated, "Mmhmm."

Owen knew it wasn't worth discussing Teddy any further with Cristina. "Yea…" Silence took over as neither had anymore to say regarding Teddy.

"You're off tomorrow, right?" Owen picked up the conversation once again.

"Yea," mumbled Cristina.

"So still on to drop them off at the airport?" Owen confirmed their plans for tomorrow.

"Yea," replied Cristina. "What time is their flight?"

"11am," answered Owen. "Mom's making breakfast before they leave so come early if you can. Actually…" Owen hesitated before telling Cristina this bit, "Karen's been demanding to have you there for breakfast. So if you want…"

Cristina smiled and said in a light tone, "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice do I? I'll be there by 8."

"Thank you." Owen smiled, feeling warmth at the budding relationship between Karen and Cristina. But there was one thing he wanted to address tonight. "…and if you're not okay with having me stay at your place until I fully recover, it's really okay. Just let me know–I don't want to pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do."

Cristina was slightly taken aback at Owen's statement. They had discussed that it was for the best to have Owen be close to the hospital and also should not be left alone during recovery and the obvious answer was staying at Cristina's. For the first time, a fleeting thought of Owen might prefer staying in his own place crossed her mind. "Do you not want to stay?" asked Cristina.

"No," hurriedly responded Owen. "No, no, I do want to stay with you." Owen quickly responded for the fear of Cristina getting the wrong idea. "I do, but I'll be a burden so I want to leave it up to you to decide."

Cristina silently thought to herself that he will be a burden if he stayed alone far from the hospital but merely offered a short, "…okay."

"So…?" Owen was confused what Cristina meant by her response.

"So what?" asked Cristina. "See you tomorrow and make sure you have your stuff ready."

Owen broke out into a wide smile and replied, "Yes ma'am. Get some rest."

Their conversation was nearing an end. "You too," replied Cristina.

"Oh, Cristina?" Owen spoke before ending the conversation to offer Cristina some news. "I called Dr. Wyatt to continue my sessions. I start in a week. Thought you'd want to know."

Cristina tossed on her bed, finding a comfortable position. Not sure whether or not it was the position or Owen's news but her body instantly drained of all the tension and relief flooded her entire body. "Thanks for telling me. Good night."

"Oh, Cristina?" Owen was not quite ready to end the conversation.

"Mm?" Cristina, eyes heavy with sleep, mumbled in a tired voice.

Owen could visualize Cristina's eyes fluttering attempting to stay awake at Owen's insistence. The space next to him felt large and empty, almost feeling as if they were continents away at the moment. "… I miss you. I wish you were here with me right now so I can see you."

Cristina smiled at Owen's words. "I'll see you tomorrow. Faster you go to sleep, the sooner you can see me."

"Yea…" Owen dragged out his response but called out her name once again. "Cristina?"

"Haha, geesus, what Owen?" asked Cristina, slightly amused at Owen's unwillingness to get off the phone.

A hush of calm hovered in between their distance. Cristina was lulled to sleep by Owen's silence. "… I love you…" said Owen in a soft voice. Cristina's eyes fluttered one last time before finally settling in and finding her peace at night.

* * *

*Sorry for not updating as frequently as I would like to. Been swamped with event preparations at work that is coming up in less than two weeks, hence leaving me with very little time and brain juice to get this story going. I know not much is happening with this story right now but thanks for reading, reviewing and keeping with this story! =)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Owen opened the door to find Cristina holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers in one hand and a large shopping bag in the other. The birds were chirping on this beautiful morning and the morning sun created a halo around Cristina. Owen squinted to adjust his vision on the staggering beauty that stood in front of him.

"I'm sorry I'm late," rushed Cristina. "I couldn't find a damn place that was opened at 7:30 except for Seattle Grace."

Owen shook his head, still unable to wipe the cheesy smile off his face. He stepped forward and grabbed her face with both his hands and planted a firm yet soft kiss on Cristina's lips. "It's okay, we're just setting the table," reassured Owen. He glanced at Cristina's full hands. "What's all this?"

"Oh, just something for the boys. Thought I shouldn't show up empty-handed," answered Cristina. She let Owen grab the flowers but gripped the shopping bag, not wanting Owen to put any unnecessary strain on his body.

A waft of buttery blueberry pancakes, crispy bacon and fresh brewed coffee greeted Cristina inside the house. "Mmmm." Cristina took in the comforting scent of classic breakfast foods. "Smells delicious."

"Cristina, is that you?" Karen came out of the kitchen with Joel crying hysterically on her hips. "Jo, jo!" Karen distracted Joel from his crankiness by pointing to Cristina, "Cwis is here!"

"Waaaaah!" Cristina flinched from Joel's deafening cries. Joel fidgeted in Karen's hold and turned his head to the pointed finger. He dropped the bottle in his mouth, leaned towards to Cristina and with his short stubby arms, reached out, asking to be held.

Owen raised his eyebrow, curious as to how Cristina would react. Cristina met Owen's bemused expression and felt challenged by his eyes. She dropped her bag and reached out to take Joel out of Karen's hold. Luckily for Cristina, Joel latched onto Cristina, masking her awkward hold on Joel. He immediately dug his wet face onto her curls cascading down from Cristina's shoulders and quieted down.

Cristina met Owen's eyes with confidence and gave him a smug smile. However, instead of the playful defeated expression she was expecting from Owen, she was met with tenderness and love in Owen's baby blue eyes, as he openly stared at her, taking in the whole picture. Cristina gulped as she realized she woke up the father in Owen. "Sorry for being late, Karen," Cristina broke from Owen's stare. "I-I don't know why Joel likes me. Babies usually hate me and I'm horrible with them," she continued and glanced at Owen, making sure to drive this point to him.

"Oh, I think I might know why," Karen cautiously started. "I realized this when I was reading him a bedtime story the other night." Karen cleared her throat. "Jo has this unnatural obsession for… lions."

"Oh…" Cristina stood with her mouth opened in shaped of an 'O' realizing for the first time Joel's clenched fists holding tightly onto a wad of curls. Owen busted into a hearty laughter as Cristina shot him a look that could kill.

* * *

"Pancakes are amazing, Mrs. Hunt," said Cristina while unable to stop stuffing her mouth with the crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-buttery-on-the-inside pancakes.

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it," said Mrs. Hunt with a satisfied smile on her face. "Please do have seconds. You can afford to gain some weight."

"I second that," said Owen, while rising to get Cristina seconds. Cristina stopped Owen from getting out of his seat, "No, it's okay," while pointing at her plate, which was still filled with food.

Owen nodded, realizing his short train of thinking. Cristina gave a light squeeze on Owen's thigh, silently showing her appreciation.

"This was Owen's favorite food when he was a little boy. Sometimes he insisted having them for dinner. You wouldn't believe the tantrums he threw at the dinner table," explained Mrs. Hunt.

"Mo-om," Owen hurriedly tried to stop his mom and Karen from sharing embarrassing childhood stories.

Cristina laughed envisioning a stocky boy with bright red hair and blue eyes, sitting at the dinner table filled with a feast of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, with tears streaming down from the absence of blueberry pancakes at the table. "Please do share more," insisted Cristina.

"Ooo, mom what embarrassing stories should we share? There's way too many to choose from," said Karen, while laughing at Owen's intense eyes screaming no. "Oh, I know a good one. Prom!"

"Noooooo," Owen groaned from his seat and tried to put on his best _'I'm serious' _face. "Don't you dare."

"No, go on. Besides, I'm the one who has to deal with him later. It's okay," Cristina assured Karen.

"Okay, so," Karen blatantly ignored Owen. "Owen was obsessed with this girl in high school for 3 years, as in call 5 times a day and hang up, wait for her after class and run away when she came out, and write Romeo and Juliet love poems. But funny thing is, he never told her. The whole school knew but Owen was blind as a bat thinking he held the secret to himself. It's cute now but boy, was it pathetic then."

"Haha, sounds a bit stalkerish," Cristina laughed at this unsightly description of Owen. The Owen that she knew was forward and direct. He was incapable of holding his emotions at bay and always acted before thinking of consequences. It was a fresh perspective on Owen as a teenager. Owen took a sideways glance at Cristina, gauging her reaction, and also couldn't help but wonder how Cristina was in high school.

"Well, eventually she found out and to everybody's surprise, she asked Owen to be her date to prom. He came into the house that day fist pumping and all, so excited I swear, I thought he was going to jump out of his skin," said Karen. "So he broke into his money that he saved from his summer job and bought himself a really nice tux and probably a box of condoms, prepared to lose his virginity that night."

Owen groaned loudly this time, knowing where this story was headed. "Aw, this isn't going to be a happy ending is it?" asked Cristina, feeling bad for this Owen she never knew. "So what happened?"

"So night of, Owen waited for her to arrive. We all thought it was weird that she was picking him up but he insisted those were the plans. So 15 minutes passed, then 30 minutes, then 1 full hour passed. Owen was losing it at this point. Not knowing what to do he eventually stepped outside the house to wait. He came back 2 hours later, still in the exact same state and stormed into his room. Waited 3 hours and she never showed up," explained Karen, with a gleam in her eyes, getting to the final part of the story. "The following Monday, Owen goes to school and gets greeted by Laura and her friends and they shower him with ice cold slurpees! Well… turns out Owen, having been a complete dimwit at this girl thing, _Owen _was supposed to pick Laura up. She ended up waiting for him before her girlfriends came to rescue her. So there goes their love story and how Owen did not lose his virginity prom night."

"Wow, that was very stupid of him," said Cristina. "Isn't it a rule set in stone that the guy picks up the girl for prom?" incredulously asked Cristina.

"Okay, still here, ladies," Owen pointed to himself in case they weren't aware he was sitting right in the conversation as well. As he stood up to clear the table, he ducked his head behind Cristina and placed his hand on the small of her back, drawing her to him. He whispered in a low growl, "I was not a virgin by the way."

Cristina snickered and turned around, lips mere centimeters away from Owen's and looked at him with her feisty eyes, "Like hell you weren't," she teased as she got up to help Owen clear the table.

* * *

"Come to bed," pleaded Owen from the bed.

"I said hold on," said Cristina, while grabbing the heap of clothes from her chair to throw in the laundry basket. "I'm cleaning."

"You couldn't clean last night?" complained Owen. He was tired from the trip to the airport and found it hard to move around and Cristina refused to stop moving since they got home hours ago.

Cristina swallowed the ball of annoyance she felt rising from within. "I was tired," she snapped in a tighter tone than she intended.

Owen caught his tone of neediness and remembered his promise to be a good patient. "Sorry…" he offered and sighed. He just wanted to hold her in his arms. It felt like an eternity since they had shared the same bed at home. Actually, it had been an eternity and this was the first chance they had in over a month to be at home, together, in each other's arms. He did not think he was asking for too much and rather found Cristina to be insensitive by her taking her time.

Cristina opened Owen's bag and started placing his clothes in his dresser. She felt Owen to be extremely needy and could not come up with the reason why. She realized Owen had been quiet for 5 minutes and she turned around to find Owen propped against the headboard, with his eyes closed. Cristina sighed and felt bad at having ignoring Owen's pleas to get in bed with him. She dropped the clothes onto the cleared chair and climbed into bed. She sat perched next to Owen, body turned sideways to meet Owen's closed eyes.

Owen felt the weight shift on the bed but did not bother to open his eyes. He was still bothered by Cristina's behavior and was not as willing to give in just yet.

Cristina noticed the frown on Owen's brow and silently smiled, fully knowing Owen was not sleeping and just upset. She scooted closer and ran her hand down his jaw, lightly scraping against his stubbles. Owen still kept his eyes closed. Cristina smiled and leaned forward, lightly brushing her lips against Owen's tightly pursed lips.

Owen was surprised to feel Cristina caressing his face. He was further taken aback at the light touch he felt across his lips. His face loosened and allowed his lips to relax. Cristina saw the wider surface on Owen's lips and pressed harder this time, taking turns to taste his lower then upper lip. Owen relented and eagerly welcomed the taste. His arm naturally found a hold around Cristina's waist and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. They broke apart for air as Owen stated, "Finally," into Cristina's mouth and grabbed her once again for another taste.

They broke apart and Cristina snuggled next to Owen, lightly draping her hand across his chest. Owen placed his hand over her dangling hand and stroked with his large thumb. "You're so stubborn," he finally broke the silence. "Like a lion."

"Shaddup," Cristina silenced Owen. "I was busy putting away your clothes and FYI– lioness, not a lion," she corrected him.

"Lioness," Owen pondered. "Suits you damn fine," he said with a smirk, couldn't think of another animal that suited her better than a lioness.

"Roar," Cristina, by verbatim, imitated the sound of a lion, causing Owen to loudly chuckle, and plant a kiss on her forehead out of affection.

"When did you lose your virginity?" Owen couldn't help but ask.

"Before you," answered Cristina.

"I told you, I wasn't a virgin then," corrected Owen. He couldn't bear the thought of Cristina lessening him as a man. "Karen doesn't know this, but I actually lost it to one of her friends. Wasn't a relationship or anything. Was just quick and dirty."

"Oh, is that when you knew you wanted to become a trauma surgeon?" asked Cristina.

Owen smiled, ignoring Cristina's smart-ass comment. "So… you?"

"Prom," answered Cristina. "Well, night of the prom to be more specific. I ditched prom and went on a mini-trip of my own."

Owen nodded. He hated asking Cristina questions about her exes which spurred ugly emotions inside whenever he thought of Cristina with another man. However, curiosity always got the best of him as he could not help but ask at these such times. "Boyfriend?"

"Uh, yea, if you want to call it then," replied Cristina.

"Serious?" asked Owen, trying to gauge Cristina's past relationships.

"No, summer fling," explained Cristina.

"Good," answered Owen, satisfied with Cristina's answer not wanting her to hold the man she lost her virginity to in a special place. "Dammit," Owen muttered in frustration.

"What is it?" asked Cristina.

Owen sheepishly answered, "I don't know how long I can last with you in bed and not able to… you know… do it with you."

"Sex," Cristina filled in Owen's words. "We're adults and we're allowed to say the word sex and fucking."

"Language, Cristina," Owen was never the one to talk crude to Cristina about sex, unless during the sex.

"Whatever," said Cristina. "I'll try my best and not be so hot in front of you. Although I can't promise anything," she wiggled her eyebrows and stroked his chest, teasing Owen.

"Ah," groaned Owen. It had been way too long since he had been inside Cristina and the mere thought of it was getting his body heated and created a reaction. He took Cristina's arm off his chest and said, "Okay, that's enough." He gently pushed Cristina so there was a space between them.

"How selfish, making me come to bed one minute and pushing me away the next," jokingly pouted Cristina, fully understanding Owen's frustrations as she was just as frustrated as he was.

* * *

"Hello, Dr. Yang," greeted Dr. Webber. "Please have a seat."

Cristina puzzlingly looked around the room noting the numerous authoritative figures that were in the room. Burke was sitting at the head of the table, with Dr. Webber right besides him. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Board, Mr. Fox and Mrs. Gates, were sitting directly across from Dr. Webber. Derek was also joining them on the phone. Cristina took a seat next to Dr. Webber.

"I'm sure you're wondering what this is all in regards to. It's good news, so relax," assured Dr. Webber as he started the meeting. "As you know, our hospital is in shifting gear right now. We are looking at options as to how to regain status to Seattle Grace since the shooting and we asked Dr. Burke to come in to fill the role as the Chief of Surgery for the time being."

Cristina nodded, fully aware of the changes Seattle Grace was attempting to regain their status.

"And of course, your solo surgery, successfully saving Dr. Shepherd from a GSW to the chest, definitely did not go unnoticed by me and the other attendings," continued Dr. Webber. "I brought it to the attention of Dr. Burke and Dr. Shepherd and both agreed before we went to the Board with this proposal. Proposal has been accepted and we're here to offer you a future at Seattle Grace."

Cristina still remained unsure what was being spoken at the table.

Dr. Webber nodded to Mr. Fox to continue with the proposal.

"The Board has interviewed everyone in this room, along with Dr. Avery, the two nurses and the anesthesiologist who saw the surgery first hand. We are all in consensus with our offer. Starting next term, we would like to skip you up a year to start as a fifth year resident. We strongly feel you are at least two years beyond other residents and time and lives would be wasted keeping you as a fourth year resident. You will have one solid year of learning under your belt and at the end of the year will have the option of continuing your residency or starting your career as an attending."

Cristina's mouth dropped open at this proposal.

Mrs. Gates went on, "We will offer to speed up your residency program with the condition that immediately after your residency is over, you will sign with Seattle Grace as a heart surgeon for at least 5 years. We cannot offer you Head of Cardio within those years but I remain confident you will prove us you deserve to be Head in those five years."

Dr. Shepherd then spoke on the phone, "Knowing you, Dr. Yang, your immediate concern is who will be teaching you at this hospital. I am stepping down as Interim Chief of Surgery. With Meredith's pregnancy and the months of healing time I will need, I have decided it is best for the hospital, for my family and for everyone else involved."

Dr. Webber spoke next, "I know 5 years of commitment seems a long time, especially with our cardio department not being as strong as it once was when you started. Therefore, we have offered Chief of Surgery to Dr. Burke. Together with you and Dr. Burke leading our cardio department, I have no doubts that we will once again take the top spot and hopefully become 1, a ranking we have yet to achieve, with the cardio wing under you and Dr. Burke's guidance. And of course, package will be generous."

Cristina's head was spinning as offers were being thrown right and left. A bit shaken from the offer, she turned to look at Burke who had remained silent. Burke directly met Cristina's eyes. It was apparent this news conflicted Burke just as much as Cristina.

The whole room followed Cristina's gaze to Dr. Burke who still remained silent despite being at the head of the table. He opened his mouth for the first time and stated, "I have accepted the position as Chief of Surgery and I'd be honored to have you as a student again."

Cristina frowned as she contemplated the situation before her eyes. _'Dammit,'_ she thought, _'conversation with Burke was unavoidable after all…"  
_

_

* * *

_

*Let me be clear that I do not know if it is realistic or not about the skipping residency thing. But hey, my reasoning is if a third year resident can operate solo on a gsw under those circumstances, I don't see why not. And it is Grey's Anatomy after all... This is my last plot and I'm slowly winding down the story. This story should wrap up in 2 or 3 more chapters. I am also really proud of finishing this chapter before I go out to enjoy the fireworks at the Hudson. Yay! Thanks for reading and reviewing, and happy birthday to US of A!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"My head hasn't been this clear since a long time now," expressed Owen. "Actually, it's probably the clearest since I've been back from the desert."

"Great to hear," Dr. Wyatt genuinely expressed. "I was concerned about the shooting triggering another episode."

"Well, while the shooting was taking place…" Owen paused before continuing. "I was triggered. Cristina doesn't know this yet, but I was actually going through an episode," admitted Owen. He sunk back into Dr. Wyatt's plush sofa, relaxing his body. "With Cristina breaking up with me, Teddy demanding me to talk and gunshots firing, I was not in a good state. Actually, at last minute, I gave up and confronted the shooter. I was so clouded with everything, I just couldn't do it anymore."

"And how did you get from that point to where you are now?" asked Dr. Wyatt.

"Cristina," Owen simply answered. "I woke up to Cristina holding my hand and that's when the fog started clearing. It was so clear that it's been her all along and my heart belongs to her. Cristina has been amazing through all the shit I've been pulling her into."

"I'm glad you two were able to find each other through all this," said Dr. Wyatt. "And what about Teddy? What are your feelings right now towards Teddy?" asked Dr. Wyatt, trying to get a better assessment on Owen and his triggers.

"Indifference?" Owen guessed. "Honestly speaking, I haven't thought much about her. I've just been focusing on trying to get it right with Cristina and where we should be. She's giving me another chance and we're finally moving forward," explained Owen. "But I did speak with Teddy couple of weeks ago. I still asked her to leave. No matter what, she is still a trigger and a very big part of my years spent in war."

"Was Cristina okay with you asking her to leave? And I only ask that knowing what happened the last time you had tried to get Teddy to leave Seattle," clarified Dr. Wyatt.

Owen pondered thinking about the last situation and this situation. To be honest, he was not sure whether or not Cristina fully understood why he needed Teddy to leave. In fact, it was a bit worrisome to Owen that she might still mistake it as Owen having residual feelings for Teddy. And besides, Cristina found out before Owen had the chance to tell her himself.

"Well, she gets that Teddy triggers me but I think she still doubts whether or not I still have feeling for Teddy. It's still on her mind," said Owen while letting out a heavy bothered sigh.

"Is that true?" asked Dr. Wyatt. "I know you're clear right now so think about it. Is it true you still have feelings for Teddy?"

Owen knew the answer but wanted to weigh in Dr. Wyatt's question before he offered his usual rash answer. "No," confidently answered Owen. "No, definitely not. Besides, being in a relationship with Cristina is quite a handful on its own anyway. There's definitely no room for anyone else," jokingly answered Owen.

"Owen, I haven't seen you this relaxed since… well, ever, actually," assessed Dr. Wyatt. "It's great seeing you finally knowing what you want and being able to express your feelings on a situation."

"Oh, don't you know it. Getting shot was the best thing to ever happen to me. Although, Cristina might have something to say against that," expressed Owen with a smile pushing through his declaration.

* * *

"You knew about this?" asked Cristina, making note of Meredith's nonchalance at her news.

"Of course I did," answered Meredith. "You think Derek would decide to give up the position as Chief without discussing it with me first? I had to get the full story from him."

"Uhm, hello. A little heads up would have been nice," quipped Cristina in an annoyed tone.

"And what, have Derek, Burke, Chief, not to mention Head of the Board come after me if the news got leaked? It was all speculation when I heard and I promise, I didn't know Burke took the position. He told Derek he needed time to think about it," honestly answered Meredith.

Cristina sighed while twirling the coffee cup in her hand. "Great, great. Well doesn't it sound just like Burke to make all the decisions himself without even bothering to consider others," said Cristina in a tight voice.

"Well, this is really good for you. Normally I would be really jealous but I think the baby is fighting the green monster for me right now," said Meredith while gently rubbing her slightly swollen stomach. "But Cristina, this is excellent for your career and they are right. You are wasting years by going through the residency. You performed 5th year resident surgeries in your 2nd year as an intern. You're ready for this."

"Uh, don't you think I realize that. Of course, I'm ready. I've been born ready," dryly answered Cristina. "You know that's not the issue. Five years with Burke is the problem. Why can't he just go away?"

"Hate to be the mature one here but you need to have a talk with Burke. Frankly, why is Burke staying here bothering you that much? Cristina, I know you and you know that Burke is the best to learn under if you want to have the prominent cardio career you've been dreaming about."

"Have you been living under a rock for the past 3 years? Hello, it's Burke. The man who left me at the altar, Burke," Cristina incredulously reminded Meredith.

"Of course I remember that," defended Meredith. "But try and remember Dr. Burke. Remember him as the renowned cardio thoracic surgeon, your mentor. You know when you two were in the operating room, you two were invincible, even with a shaking hand. You guys worked well together and he really brought you to another level during that second year. Remember that?" asked Meredith.

Behind the abandonment, arguments and distrust, Cristina did remember the operating room where the two worked so well together, as a well oiled machine they frequently referred each other as. She did flourish in her second year, helping her create a strong foundation to where she stood today.

"Unless," Meredith hesitantly broke Cristina's thoughts. "Unless you're against this amazing offer for another reason."

Cristina got up from the bench and declared, "I need to talk with Burke."

* * *

Cristina settled in the on-call bed at 2am, ready to find some peace at night. She had a long day that required too much thinking, something she was not prepared for. There were too many people she needed to talk with before making a decision. One of which was Owen. Cristina quickly texted _'Miss you. Good night.'_ to Owen.

As Cristina was hopelessly trying to fall asleep, her phone buzzed loudly next to her pillow. She glanced and smiled at the flashing name _'Owen Hunt' _on her phone.

"Sorry, did I wake you up with my text?" asked Cristina.

"No, I've been sleeping all day long," assured Owen. "Besides, I was waiting for your call anyway. At least I got a text, right?" teased Owen. He knew Cristina did not want to wake him up in case he was asleep but at times like this, he wished Cristina would just call, no matter the time. Heaven knows he would not mind a call from Cristina just to hear her voice saying she missed him.

"Just in case you were sleeping…" Cristina trailed off, rubbing her temples. "How was your day?"

"Good. I had my first session with Dr. Wyatt today," answered Owen. "Went well. Talked about us, shooting, Teddy," Owen explained.

"Didn't know you were such a chatter," ribbed Cristina. It was foreign to see Owen discussing his issues so openly with Cristina and Dr. Wyatt as of late.

"Neither did I. Told her the shooting was the best thing to ever happen to me," shared Owen. "Although I know you beg to differ."

"Obviously. I didn't get a MD to become a nurse you know," joked Cristina.

Owen smiled and reached over to Cristina's pillow, drawing Cristina closer by the mere motion of touching her pillow. "How was your day?" asked Owen.

Cristina paused. She was not quite ready to share the news with Owen, especially not over the phone. She bit her lip quickly thinking whether or not to share a part of the news since she did need to talk it out with him. She decided against, not wanting Owen to worry about anything that said be said during the conversation.

"Boring. Tiring. Still not much going on since the incident," said Cristina. "If you were here in your office doing paperwork, I won't be as bored," teased Cristina. "We'll be anything but bored. We'll be hot, sweaty, nakedddddd," said Cristina, dragging out the last word.

Owen let a hearty laughter into the phone. "Can't wait to be back in the office," he agreed.

They enjoyed the brief lingering silence as each let their mind wander to the future scene in Owen's office.

Owen snapped back to reality and his face turned somber. He couldn't gauge Cristina's mood over the phone but thought he'd give it a try anyway. "So, I'm really bored at home too. I have a lot of time on my hands and very limited in what I can do since I can't move."

"Okay," said Cristina, not sure where Owen was going with his declaration of boredom.

"So I've been spending a lot of time on the internet," Owen slowly eased into the conversation. "It's amazing what you can find on the internet these days," Owen dragged on.

"How many porn sites have you visited and when do you need a new laptop by?" asked Cristina.

"Hahaha," laughed Owen. He knew he was talking in circles and it was like Cristina to say something inappropriate to make him get to the point. "Cristina, I'm serious here."

"Fine, then say it. What's your point?" bluntly asked Cristina.

"I've been looking for a condo near the hospital and I found some that's perfect for us," stated Owen.

Cristina clamped her mouth and allowed Owen's words to sink in. Neither said anything for awhile until Owen finally asked, "Cristina? Did you hear me?"

"Yeah…" answered Cristina. "Owen, not tonight," she answered in a tired voice.

Owen pursed his lips, hurt by Cristina's silence on the matter. He sighed loudly into the phone, defeated and bothered. He knew Cristina would not so easily agree to move in as she did the first time but did not expect this type of push back from her.

Cristina heard the hurt through Owen's heavy sigh. "Sorry, babe," she apologized to Owen. "Bad timing. Just not tonight."

Owen eased slightly at Cristina's apology. He knew she only called him babe when she really wanted to drop a conversation without having it lead into a fight. He did sense the tiredness in her voice. "Fine," Owen was willing to drop the conversation for tonight. "But I'm still looking," he said his final piece, knowing Cristina won't turn him down so harshly twice in a row.

"Yeah, keep looking," answered Cristina. "We'll talk later."

* * *

"I guess you have to talk to me now," said Burke while taking a seat next to Cristina on the bench.

"Hi," greeted Cristina and took the coffee in Burke's hand. "Thanks."

They both looked out into the pier, watching the boats sway up and down from the lazy tides.

"It's been quite interesting to be back," Burke broke the ice. "Many things have changed since I left."

"Yeah, things are different now." Cristina replied. "People move on you know."

"Yeah," Burke agreed. "Life has the tendency to pick you up and move you along whether you are ready or not."

"Why are you back?" Cristina bluntly asked Burke for the first time. "No, let me rephrase. Why did you agree to the offer?"

Burke was surprised at this new Cristina, who asked and demanded to know. Who needed answers instead of taking the quick way out. "Well, I'll answer both your questions. I came back because I was worried. I was concerned for the hospital, for my former colleagues and yes, I was worried about you. I took the offer because I realized how much I made Seattle my home. Since I've been back, I've never felt so at home than here and I meant it when I said I was honored to have you as a student again," Burke explained with a somber face.

Cristina had no idea what she needed to discuss during the conversation. What would make it right for her to decide she was ready to work with Burke again, despite their personal history. "That's all?" was the question Cristina managed to muster out.

"Yes, that is all. I've thought this situation through and through," explained Burke. "Cristina, I left you. I ended it with you. I want to explain what I was going through, what I went through after it was over. I would love to tell my side of the story but something tells me you do not care to hear an explanation that is years overdue. Seems like you've moved on and it's clear there is no more us for you and I am aware. That's why I took the position as Chief," answered Burke. "I believe we can make it work."

It infuriated Cristina to see Burke assessing how well she was, what she was thinking and feeling and what worked for her and did not. Frustration built inside with her past reminiscent angry emotions running through her veins. "You have no idea what you're talking about," said Cristina in an angry tone.

Burke was surprised at Cristina's comment. He was also surprised to see such a strong emotion out of Cristina, who all the while seemed to be even keeled. "So tell me what you're thinking then," Burke responded.

Cristina took a deep breath. "You're right. I don't want to hear an explanation. I don't want to hear that you left for me, because you loved me. Because I know you feel you did the right thing. And ultimately you were because you set me free. But you were wrong. How you did it was wrong, Burke."

Burke hung his head fully understanding where Cristina was coming from. If he had a chance to go back and change one thing in life, it would be that exact moment.

"You had all these doubts all along. You kept doubting that I wanted it but you pushed and pushed until you saw it no more. You were selfish, inconsiderate and self-absorbed. It was your idea, your shot and your plan. You failed to think about anyone but yourself until the day. And I'm sure you thought yourself noble of _knowing _for me but you were wrong," defiantly expressed Cristina.

"I did not think my actions to be noble," argued Burke. "If I had thought that you did not want the wedding before the day, of course I would have talked to you! Of course I would have. It hit me then as I was waiting for you to walk down the aisle that you did not want it, ever."

"If you paid any attention to what _I _wanted…" Cristina trailed off. "Forget it. I'm not looking to pick a fight with you over something that ultimately was the right call for both of us."

Burke was not ready to drop the conversation. "No, if we want to be able to work together, we need to clear the air between us."

"I said I'm not interested," snapped Cristina, once again annoyed at how Burke pushed every time Cristina pulled. "Our professional lives will be separate from our personal issues so it doesn't make a difference, so drop it."

Burke angrily glared at Cristina. He was frustrated at how Cristina refused to lay it out in the open with him. "No matter how much you deny it, our personal relationship will feed into our professional relationship."

Cristina begged to differ as her relationship with Owen was handled with personal and professionalism at work, without the two intertwining, for the most part. "No, I can separate the two. I've learned from my mistakes and having you as a mentor will not affect my job as a surgeon. This is why I asked for the talk. Not to clear our issues but to agree that we are both ready to move on professionally with each other despite what happened in the past. Can you do that Preston?" asked Cristina.

Burke raised his eyebrows. He was mistaken for believing they were going to discuss about what happened and how to move forward. There were many thoughts that ran across his mind before the conversation. His heart lightly throbbed at Cristina's mention of his first name Preston.

Burke's silence concerned Cristina. "You took the job as the Chief with the responsibility of having to teach me as a student. If you had any other intentions, you know better than anyone else that you are not fit for the job. I need for you to be on the same page as me. That's the only way I can agree to the offer," expressed Cristina in a serious tone.

He blinked, trying to absorb all of Cristina's words. It was clear they were expecting very different conversations from the beginning. "Yes," Burke took a large gulp from his coffee, washing down the ball of emotions rising from his throat. "If that's what you want, I can agree to a professional relationship."

"Good," Cristina nodded, satisfied with Burke's answer. She rose to motion to leave, "Owen's waiting for me, I should go. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Cristina picked up her steps to leave behind Burke's trailing gaze of fondness masked by admiration of this new Cristina Yang.

* * *

For those who waited for a new chapter-sorry for the wait but my event is finally done and over with so hopefully I can wrap this story up soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing! Next up-C/O have lots to discuss...! (Oh, and I know I make mistakes but I'll go back and fix them once the story is completed.)


	12. Chapter 12

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Owen was mindlessly flipping through channels, glancing intermittently at the digital clock on the cable box. He assumed Cristina would be home early having been on-call the previous night but was restless from lack of signs of her. Owen was playing the waiting game with Cristina more often as of late but swallowed any annoyance that rose within. Patience was virtue and the final line that mattered was that Cristina was coming home to him.

Cristina jiggled the keys into the slot and opened the door to find Owen sitting on the couch, eyes narrowed to the opened door.

"Hi," greeted Cristina as she threw her keys into the bowl and dropped her coat and jacket onto the floor. She took large strides towards Owen.

Owen smiled and tossed the remote control onto the coffee table. "Hey," he acknowledged as he stretched his arms to motion Cristina to come and sit on his lap.

Cristina nuzzled into Owen's open arms and settled herself on his right side, careful to avoid his wounded area. "How are you feeling?" she asked while gently laying a hand on his chest.

"I'm good, didn't move around much today," replied Owen while tightening his hold around Cristina's waist. Two days of not seeing Cristina had been tortuous for Owen as he realized then and there, how much he missed having her in his arms.

It felt like home to be in Owen's arms. Cristina let herself enjoy a moment in his hold before sliding off his legs, not wanting to add any additional pressure on Owen's healing body. "Did you take a walk today?" she asked.

"No," answered Owen. "I was hoping to take one with you?" he half-asked, half suggested.

"C'mon," replied Cristina while gently tugging on Owen's large arms. "Let's get some fresh air."

* * *

The air was brisk, a bit chilly for early September. The sun was settling, creating an orange dusk in the background. Upon seeing Cristina tighten as the wind blew, Owen released his hold on her hand and reached over her shoulders to wrap her in his warmth. Cristina grabbed his waist, firming her hold for support for Owen.

"No, the other way," Cristina directed Owen away from the looming hospital.

"I just want to show you something," responded Owen and kept his slow paced walk towards the hospital.

"Damn should have worn a hat and gone incognito," mumbled Cristina.

"Oh, stop it," said Owen with a wide grin. "The whole hospital knows we're together. What difference does it make?"

"Knowing it and seeing it are two very different things," rebutted Cristina as she shrank smaller in Owen's embrace.

"Oh, they've seen plenty," replied Owen. "I'm sure they've seen us walk in and out together, kissing at the ambulance bay, not to mention the time you were so sure you locked the…"

"Got it. Point taken," said Cristina as she stopped her ridiculous attempt to hide and offered a warm smile to Owen. "What do you want to show me anyway?"

"See that building right there?" Owen pointed up ahead to a newly built high rise a block from their view. Cristina craned her neck to follow his lead. "Condo just opened up," said Owen while he gave Cristina a light squeeze on her shoulders. He knew if he left the discussion of moving in up to Cristina, he would find himself sleeping over Cristina's until they were old and gray with Callie cooking chicken piccatas every Thursdays.

"It's close," Cristina agreed. "But a condo? That's expensive… How big is it?" Cristina cautiously asked, not comfortable with talking about purchasing a place together. She wanted to take small steps, not a giant leap.

"Don't worry about the price," Owen quickly assured. "It's a gorgeous space. Three bedrooms, two baths, dining, large living room," Owen rambled on with the offerings of the enticing condo.

"That's too much for us," Cristina reflexively shot back. "Three bedrooms? We barely make use of one. All we need is a bed and a corner," she scoffed, seeing it absolutely too lavish for their needs.

Owen cleared his throat, clearing noting Cristina was missing his point by a mile. "Well…" he slowly started as they walked closer to the apartment. "Eventually…" he stalled once again as they waited for the traffic light to turn green. "We're going to need to expand."

Cristina shot Owen a look as her expression changed from surprised to bemused. "Not only are you talking about moving in, you are talking about buying a place and asking me to fill the rooms with children for you?" she asked incredulously.

"No, no" Owen quickly retracted. "I said eventually. Not soon, not this year or next year, just, eventually."

Cristina remained silent, knowing how cautious Owen was in bringing up his thoughts on the situation.

This was neither the time nor place he wanted to have the baby talk with Cristina but fought himself unable to hold back his words. "You really meant it when you said you didn't want children?" he asked.

"What?" Cristina asked, hoping she didn't hear Owen correctly.

"You said you didn't want kids. Why?" he asked, more forcibly this time.

'_Dammit,'_ Cristina thought as she registered she did hear him correctly the first time. "Kids are the last thing on my mind right now," said Cristina.

"It's definitely not my top priority, but," Owen pleaded quietly to Cristina. "Eventually, one day, I would like to have children with you. If you're seriously against it, I would like to know why."

Cristina sighed, knowing she had to give something to Owen. "It's not in my plans, I don't think about it, therefore I don't have much to say on that issue. Once I do start seriously thinking about it, then I'll have more to say. When we get there, okay?" she asked Owen.

It did not look like Owen was willing to let the subject die down. If anything, he saw a crack and wanted to set one foot in when he had the chance. But before Owen could open his mouth to continue to prod through Cristina's walls, she spoke before he had the chance. "I have some news to share and I'm hoping you will see it like how I'm seeing it."

* * *

"That's great news," said Owen while Cristina slowly eased Owen out of his jacket. "Wow, congratulations." He peered down at Cristina with admiration and pride and swallowed her small frame in his large embrace.

Cristina let herself be held at first and wrapped her hands around his waist. "Thanks," she finally responded.

Owen barely heard her response and was utterly confused at her lack of excitement. Cristina out of everyone should have been the one gloating about her accomplishments and popping open a bubbly in celebration of the speed track she was offered in becoming the next greatest cardio goddess.

"What?" he asked, pulling her back from his embrace. "How come you're not happy?"

"I am," answered Cristina, gently pushing Owen on her bed. "Of course, I'm happy. I'm honored, happy, excited…"

"Can't tell by the expression on your face," Owen frowned while finding a comfortable position against the headboard. "What is it Cristina?" he gently urged.

Cristina climbed into bed and sat upright next to Owen. "So… this offer comes with interesting… incentives."

Owen urged Cristina to continue through his silence.

"Burke," Cristina started and took a large gulp of her wine in her hands. "He's been offered the position as Chief." She took another large gulp. "And he took it." Cristina winced with her final words and stared straight ahead, not looking forward to Owen's reaction.

As expected, silence consumed them both in the large bed. Cristina could not help but take a sideways glance to gauge Owen's reaction. His face was blank, with a bit of confusion dancing in his eyes.

"So…" Owen thought out loud. "Burke's staying on as Chief and they want you to stay 5 years after your residency as a cardio attending?" Owen quickly put the pieces together.

Cristina could not do much but nod to Owen's question. The blank look on Owen's face was quickly replaced by frowning of his forehead and darkening of his eyes. Displeased emotions danced in every movement on his face as he soaked in the news. He had too many questions racing through his mind. Was this Burke's idea? How dare he take up on the offer to stay? What were his intentions? And more importantly where did Cristina stand with this news?

"Owen," Cristina brought Owen back. "Before you say anything, before you keep thinking, I thought long and hard about this. At first, I was angry at Burke for coming to this decision on his own." Cristina swirled the wine in her glass and took a sip. "But then I realized I was expecting him to discuss with me first when he has no reason to. This was his decision and whatever I decide to do will be mine. No, our decision," she clarified and took this time to look at Owen, who stared back with blazing intensity.

"So I needed to clear the air with Burke. I met him right before I came home tonight." As soon as the words escaped from Cristina, Owen involuntarily tensed and his hand balled into a fist. Cristina quickly reacted by taking her hand off the glass and placed it over Owen's tightly balled fist, relaxing the rough skin with her thumb. "I needed to clear the air with him. And if I wasn't sure before, tonight made me realize I am more than capable of working a professional relationship with Burke."

Owen's fist was still clammed shut as he was absorbing Cristina's words. But his issue with Burke still held true in place. He did not trust Burke's return and was further unsettled by his decision to stay. "Can _he_ stay professional with you?" Owen forcefully asked.

"Yes, I believe he can," answered Cristina, best to her ability.

"And what makes you so sure? I don't trust him. I don't like him, I can't stand seeing him and definitely am not okay with you working directly under him." Owen was fully aware at this point the was dangerously coming off sounding like a jealous possessive boyfriend, but could not control his words as his distaste for Burke was much stronger than his ability to maintain his cool.

"Because you trust me and you need to believe in me. This isn't about Burke," Cristina reassured, turning her body to directly face Owen. "I believe he can stay professional with me and I sure as hell can with him. And even if he can't, you need to believe in me that I can. Because I believe in us…" Cristina bore into Owen's dark eyes, so desperately wanting Owen to see the truth in her own eyes.

"Then share," Owen declared.

Cristina was baffled and could only repeat his question, "Share what?"

"Share," Owen restated, unclenched his fist and wrapped his hand around Cristina's. "Share your story with Burke with me," he softly requested.

"We all have a story to tell," Cristina stammered, not completely comfortable with where this conversation was heading. "You have a story with Beth and Teddy, and I have a past myself. It's the past and not important for us," Cristina tried wiggling way out of her story with Burke.

"It's important to me. It's important to hear about your past. If you want me to be okay with you agreeing and even wanting to learn from Burke again, you at least owe me the truth," Owen softly made his case. "I can't understand you right now so make me understand," he pleaded for the last time.

"Okay," Cristina relented and took a final sip of her wine. "But I'm going to need more than a glass of wine to get through this story," she stated as she left the room in search for the bottle.

* * *

*Short chapter but fast update, no? Thanks to everyone who's stuck with the story so far; only one chapter left! =)


	13. Chapter 13

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Owen crooked his head as Cristina entered the room. "Do I need to prepare myself?" he asked, voice heavy with worry, noting the bottle in Cristina's hand.

Cristina ignored Owen's question, poured herself a large glass of wine and took a large gulp before settling down next to Owen. "You asked… now you get," she replied as she breathed in a heavy sigh.

Cristina's reluctance and uneasiness stirred discomfort in the pit of his stomach. Owen calmly placed his hand over Cristina's thigh and gave a gentle rub. "You're right, I do want to know."

"So…" Cristina finally began her story. "Burke and I started hooking up within my first month at Seattle Grace. It was just sex. I didn't want anything more and he seemed fine with that, at first. But before I knew it, we became a couple and he asked me to move in."

Owen nodded, telling himself over and over again in his head to ignore the images of Cristina with another man. He reminded himself that, of course, she was not a virgin when they met and he himself had been with plenty of women before Cristina.

"It was not even 6 months of officially dating when he asked me to move in," continued Cristina. "I freaked out and held off on giving him an answer until I was cornered. So I finally agreed to move in with Burke." Cristina took a sip of wine. "Although I did still keep my apartment."

"You lied?" asked Owen.

"That's besides the point." Cristina quickly dismissed Owen's question as she continued her story. "Burke… had a funny way of muddling our personal and professional relationship. If we got into a fight–which of course to him was almost always my fault–he punished me at work. He would keep me on scut duty or refused to let me inside his OR. It was taking a toll on both my personal and professional areas in my life. At a certain point, I was ready to call it quits."

Owen swallowed the many questions that were pushing his way past his throat.

Cristina continued, "Then he went ahead and got himself shot in the shoulder–"

"Whaa–?" interrupted Owen. "Shot? You mean there was another shooting at the hospital?"

"Isolated," Cristina waved off Owen's surprised reaction. "Crazy madmen. You're making me sidetrack. Do you want the full story or not?"

Owen clammed his mouth and gently squeezed Cristina's thigh to let her continued. He would take this full version any day over the short version of the story, which would probably run along the lines of we had sex, we became a couple, we fought and then he got shot.

"So Derek operated and surgery went fine. Or at least we thought it did. Burke started getting tremors in his right hand and no one knew except for me. He was in the running to become the chief. Too many factors were against Burke coming out and telling Chief and Derek about his tremors. So our secret began. I started first-assisting Burke in every single one of his surgeries and performed when his hands were unstable," explained Cristina.

"How can no one know? Isn't it kind of obvious to those in the OR?" asked Owen, unable to believe they were able to get away with such a gimmick.

"We worked…" Cristina paused to think of the word. "…well together. It wasn't a surprise when I scrubbed in on Burke's surgery since everyone in the hospital knew I was on the cardio track and I was sleeping with him," she stated. Cristina felt Owen's hand slightly tense at her matter of fact statement. "Sorry," she refined her choice of words. "I mean, was in a relationship with Burke."

"Thanks, that's better," Owen tried to force a small reassuring smile.

"Well, George found out and I couldn't do it anymore. I was a second year intern, learning and performing advanced surgeries, risking my career, not to mention my relationships with everyone else that did not include Burke. I couldn't do it so I went to the Chief and confessed. I swear what I did was right. But Burke of course, was convinced I was wrong. So after all that was said and done at work, Burke and I existed in total silence for three months," explained Cristina.

"So you went back to your old apartment?" asked Owen.

"Uh, no," responded Cristina. "I moved in with Burke, remember? We lived together in total silence."

"I see…" mumbled Owen, not fully understanding at what point she actually moved in and what she meant by total silence. But as he knew, that was once again, not the point.

"So total silence, not even one word for three months. Yeah, don't ask how I did it, I wouldn't be able to tell you," reflected Cristina on the silent months. "Finally, it was getting ridiculous so I broke the ice. I spoke first and he replied by proposing."

Owen threw his hands in the air, exasperated at the sharp turns of the story. "Proposed? After three months of not speaking?" He was concerned at the lack of communication he sometimes felt with Cristina but he now had a much better understanding that Cristina was open–very open–in their relationship.

"Yup," Cristina tossed back her wine. "Asked me to marry him. Two weeks later, I said yes. Two weeks after that, I told him I wanted to go to City Hall and exactly two months later, I found myself at a church, with no eyebrows and a choker that was seriously making me unable to breathe. And then, you know what happens next. He left me at the altar."

"But why?" insisted Owen. This detail, he had to know. What made Preston Burke leave Cristina Yang on their wedding day. "Why?"

"Because he always knew what was best for me," retorted Cristina while rolling her eyes. She met Owen's solemn eyes and she knew she had to give him more. "Okay, seriously. My vows, I wrote on my hands. I accidentally scrubbed it off that day. I had a freak out moment and Burke took that as the final sign to mean I did not want to marry him."

"But that other time," cautiously started Owen, almost afraid of the truth. "You said you would have married him…"

Cristina looked at Owen, momentarily halting before giving him her answer, making sure she minimized the sting of her words. "I didn't want the church wedding and I definitely wanted to keep my eyebrows. But yes, I would have gone through with it if he gave me a moment. I'm glad he didn't though and looking back now, I'm glad he set me free."

"Me too…" Owen silently agreed. "So that's it?"

"The best part comes after. A year later, I met a hot Army dude who constantly kisses me senseless and then they lived happily ever after?" teased Cristina, trying to shed some lightness in their conversation.

"No, is that the full story?" Owen had grown a sixth sense on whenever Cristina tried to wiggle herself out of situations and this time, this sixth sense was bright and alert.

Cristina emptied her glass and placed it on the bedside table. She turned to meet Owen to share the last tidbit of her story with Burke. "Owen," she started while grabbing his hand with both her hands. "When Burke and I first started dating. No, not dating… I–we–it… it was just sex." Cristina dropped her eyes, finding it hard to meet Owen's curious but concerned gaze. "Then I got pregnant."

Non-differentiable anger, whether it was jealously or hatred towards Burke, formed into a tight ball in his chest. "Cristina…" he called her name out, not knowing what else to say to this unexpected story. His hands loosened, as strength from his body all pooled in his chest. He took his hand out of her hold and massaged his chest. "What happened?" he finally managed to ask.

"I barely knew him and it wasn't even a relationship. There was just no way I was going to have it. I never wanted a baby in the first place anyway. I schedule an appointment but before my appointment, I miscarried and lost a fallopian tube." Cristina finally managed to tell her complete story to Owen and Owen only.

Owen had trouble meeting her eyes as he did not want to show anger he felt internally. He knew Cristina wasn't the reason and did not want her to mistake his emotions towards her.

Cristina, unable to read Owen's body language leaned her head against Owen's good shoulder. She reached over and slid her hand between his hand and chest, taking over the soothing of his chest. "I never wanted children. I never even thought about it. I only dreamt and desired to hold scalpels in the OR and repair hearts after hearts after hearts. The whole baby thing is new to me and I really don't know what I feel about it. I know I'm supposed to feel a certain way about having children with the man I love, but it doesn't come naturally for me. And besides, I have one tube. I might not even be fertile at this point, factoring in all the toll I put on my body" Cristina rambled to Owen, not completely aware whether or not he was following her.

Owen absorbed every single word and intention to Cristina's speech. "Just because it doesn't come naturally doesn't mean you can't learn it," Owen solemnly spoke. "You can't just say no to children because you don't know how you feel about having kids. I can teach you, I can plant the seeds for you."

Cristina chuckled at the hard to miss pun.

Owen lightly nudged Cristina's side and commented, "No pun intended."

"Okay, but let's compromise," suggested Cristina. "Give me time until after I at least become an attending. At least."

"At least," promised Owen as he tilted Cristina's chin to meet his eyes. "That was quite a story you told me."

"Hey, you asked. No, you insisted on hearing it," Cristina responded while continuously massaging Owen's chest. "Are you okay?"

"Yea, just took a lot out of me." Owen gave a quick peck on Cristina's forehead. "But I did ask for it, didn't it. I'm glad you shared although we might have been able to break that into at least three conversations."

Cristina smiled. "Nah, you're a big boy. You can handle the truth. So are you okay with the offer?" she asked, going back full circle to why the storytelling began.

"If it makes you happy and you are okay, I will be too," answered Owen. "We've been through worse."

* * *

(6 months later)

"Hi," Owen greeted Meredith while guiding her to her seat.

"Hi, Dr. Hunt," Meredith awkwardly responded while placing one hand on her pregnant stomach and the other on Owen for support.

"Owen, please," requested Owen, taking a seat across from Meredith. "No need to make this awkward."

"It already is awkward," stated Meredith, never the one to shy away from the truth with Owen. "Does Cristina know we're meeting?"

"No, I haven't told her. It's something I've wanted to do for a very long time and I wanted to do this for us, not for Cristina," answered Owen while calling the waiter over. "Bottled water, please," ordered Owen.

They both placed in their dinner orders and Owen made sure Meredith was settled and comfortable at the table before he picked up the conversation. "Are you surprised I asked you for dinner?" he asked.

"Of course," answered Meredith. "I mean, you and I… we aren't exactly too fond of each other, no? No offense," she quickly added.

"Well, I understand it's nearly impossible to please the twisted sisters," joked Owen.

"You've been talking to Derek, I see," Meredith said with a smile.

"Actually, twisted sisters was me," Owen informed Meredith. "And I am in love with one twisted sister, might as well as acquaint myself with the other," Owen edged into the conversation.

"You know…" Meredith started. "I don't have to like you. Cristina never liked Derek and I'm sure she still doesn't. Well, she did mention the other day that he grew on her like a fungus but it took more than 4 years to get here so it's not completely out of the ordinary that we don't have a relationship," assured Meredith.

"I know," said Owen. "Cristina told me over and over and made sure I knew no matter what I did, you will never be on my side. But you are Cristina's person, Cristina is the godmother to your child, Cristina will be my wife–"

"You're engaged?" Meredith broke into a loud outburst. "You proposed to Cristina?"

A hush fell over the restaurant as patrons gasped at the scene of a pregnant woman yelling at the man in front of her about proposing to 'Cristina' that was obviously not herself. Whispers took over the room as Owen groaned and put his head down in frustration. "No, no," he quietly calmed Meredith down. "I didn't propose. Well, not yet." Owen cleared his throat, afraid of how cheesy he might come off with his next statement. "I wanted to ask for your permission before I proposed, however."

Meredith broke out into a wide grin as Owen seriously just racked up major brownie points.

* * *

(6 months later)

Owen dropped the glass, crushing the fragile pieces with his right foot.

"Mazel tov!" The crowd of 50 shouted in jubilation at the end of Cristina and Owen's ceremony. Owen easily lifted Cristina by her waist, meeting her eyes with his eyes. Cristina let out a euphoric laugh as she grabbed Owen's face and planted open mouthed kisses on his waiting lips.

It was a perfect wedding, perfect for Cristina if she had ever envisioned a perfect wedding. No princess bride dresses, both eyebrows still in tact, family and 20 of their closest friends, no church and the only thing Jewish was the crushing of the glass.

Cristina finally found her her _me and Owen_ to Meredith's _me and Derek_.

* * *

(2 years later)

"One more push Cristina!" Addison encouraged Cristina to give yet another big push.

"THAT'S ALREADY THE FIFTH ONE MORE PUSH!" screamed Cristina, feeling the throbbing pains in her lower body.

"Ssssssshhhhhhhh," comforted Owen while wiping the sweat from Cristina's forehead. "Almost out, just one more."

"YOU SSSSHHHH! IT'S YOUR FAULT THE BABY'S SO DAMN BIG!" screamed Cristina as she mustered all her strength to give another push.

"Waaaaaaaah!" Addison quickly wiped the baby before handing it over to the nurse. "Wow, she is big," she commented. "7 pounds, 10 ounces."

"Waaaaaaah!" She screamed and kicked against the nurse's hold.

"And she's damn loud!" grumbled Cristina, while trying to peering over her legs to get a glimpse of her girl.

"And she's beautiful," said Owen with tears in his eyes, supporting Cristina's back for a better look.

"Okay, Cristina, are you ready?" asked Addison.

Owen quickly took the damp face towel and wiped Cristina's face. "I love you," Owen said while placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"You're going to need to do more than that," warned Cristina before gathering her strength for round 2.

"Okay, push!" instructed Addison. "Push, harder!"

"AHHH! YOU AND YOUR F*CKIN TWIN GENES!" screamed Cristina as she pushed with all her might, energy draining by every second.

Owen raised his hand that was tightly clenched on by Cristina and pressed soft kisses on her white fingers. He released a smile and softly chided, "Language, Cristina."

* * *

*I'm done! I'm sorry if this story felt rushed towards the end. I'm just very impatient and I felt I was unnecessarily dragging out the story. I might do a short or a one shot sequel depending on how bored/inspired I get before Grey's comes back on. I'm not sure how the story alerts work but if you get updates for this story, it's just me going back to delete all notes and fix the errors.

*Last but definitely not least, thank you for reading and thank you sooo much for the awesome reviews, esp to those who consistently left reviews. I'm not exaggerating when I say I read the reviews over and over... and over... They really kept me going and made me want to finish this story. So thank you and I really really hope you enjoyed reading this till the end.


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